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Social Security Survivor Benefits - What Occurs To Your Social Security Benefits When One Spouse Dies
When Social Security was initially created, it only paid retirement money to workers who were eligible. It was later amended to include benefits for spouses and survivors, that made it more of a family or insurance program, rather then just a retirement plan.
Unfortunately, it is inevitable that many husbands and wives will find themselves widowed around their retirement. This is not only a massive loss emotionally, but can be a major loss financially as well, especially since the survivor will lose the money earned by the spouse that has died.
The Social Security survivor benefit was designed to ensure that the surviving spouse wouldn't lose all of their income when the first spouse passes. Actually, the survivor income is 100% of the spouse's income before he or she passed. Supposing that both spouses are currently receiving Social Security, if the spouse with the higher amount of Social Security dies first, the spouse with the lower income will get a rise in her income. However if the spouse with the lower benefit passes first, the surviving spouse's benefit will not modify.
There are some policies in order to be eligible for Social Security death benefits: The couple should have been married for at least 9 months before the spouse's death, except if his death was a result of an accident. Also, separated spouses may qualify for widow's income as long as they were married for at least 10 years.
Widows can apply for survivor benefits beginning at age 60, or age 50 if they are disabled. Same as with retirement and spousal benefits, the widow may not prefer to start collecting at age 60 because the benefit will be decreased for every month received before reaching full retirement age. A widow can hope to get anywhere from 71.5% to 100% of her departed spouse's benefit depending on how old she is when she starts collecting the survivor benefit.
It's useful to note that as a widow you will get the survivor benefit or your own income, whichever is more. So your benefit will go up if your spouse's benefit was higher than your own, however you will still miss one benefit, so your total benefit from Social Security could be 1/3 to 1/2 less than it was before your spouse passed.
One strategy to help optimize your total benefits considering your spouse passes before you attain full retirement age is to begin collecting widow's benefits when your spouse passes (assuming you are more than age 60 or your are age 50 and crippled), then move to your own benefit once you reach your full retirement age. This will allow your own retirement benefits to keep on earning credits and therefore will raise your retirement benefit. Or, if the survivor benefit is considerably higher than your own benefit, you could request your own benefit early, then switch to the survivor benefit when you are at full retirement age.
You may apply for Social Security widow benefits right away after a relative has passed. To do so, you can call the Social Security Administration or visit the office nearest to you. It's important to know how Social Security survivor benefits operate so you can maximize your retirement income, particularly after the loss of a loved one.
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