Social Security Spousal Benefits and Survivor Benefits

Takeaways

• Social Security provides spousal benefits to eligible spouses of retired or disabled workers, potentially up to half of the worker’s full retirement benefit.
• Survivor benefits are available to family members, including spouses, children, and dependent parents, after a worker’s death, offering financial protection similar to life insurance.

Social Security is best known as a retirement program, but it does far more than provide monthly income for retired workers. It also protects families by extending benefits to spouses, widows, widowers, and children when a worker retires, becomes disabled, or dies. These spousal and survivor benefits are critical for households that depend on one worker’s earnings, ensuring financial stability in times of transition and loss.

Spousal Benefits

When a worker begins collecting retirement or disability benefits, their spouse may also be entitled to benefits even if the spouse did not earn enough credits to qualify on their own. To qualify for benefits, the spouse must be at least 62 years old or be caring for a child who is either under 16 years old or who receives Social Security disability benefits.

A spouse may receive up to half of the worker’s full benefit amount, depending on the spouse’s age when they start receiving benefits. If the spouse files for spousal benefits before full retirement age, their benefits are reduced unless they are caring for a qualifying child. (Note that the worker must have filed for Social Security benefits and be receiving them for the spouse to collect benefits on the worker’s record.)

If a spouse qualifies for benefits based on their own work record and as a spouse, they will receive the higher of the two amounts, but not both. Even divorced spouses may qualify for spousal benefits, provided the marriage lasted at least 10 years, they are currently unmarried, and their ex-spouse is eligible for benefits.

Survivor Benefits

Social Security also functions as a form of life insurance. When a worker dies, their surviving family members may be eligible for monthly benefits based on the late worker’s earnings record.

Who Can Get Survivor Benefits

• Spouses and ex-spouses. To qualify for survivor benefits, a spouse must be at least 60 years old (or at least 50 if they have a disability). They must have been married for at least nine months before their spouse’s death, and they must not have remarried before age 60 (age 50 if they have a disability).
  
  Ex-spouses who were married for at least 10 years, as well as some valid nonmarital legal relationships, may be eligible. An exception to the age limits is if the surviving spouse is caring for a child of the worker who has died.
   
• Children. Unmarried children under age 18, or up to 19 if in high school, and children who were disabled before age 22 may also qualify for survivor benefits.
   
• Dependent parents. Adults over the age of 62 may be eligible for benefits if they were financially supported by a child who died.

Survivor Benefits Amounts

• Spouses and ex-spouses. Payments start at 71.5 percent of the deceased spouse’s benefit and increase the longer the surviving spouse waits to start receiving benefits. For example, the surviving spouse can receive over 80 percent at age 63 and over 90 percent at age 65. If the surviving spouse waits until they reach their full retirement age, between 66 and 67 years old (depending on their birth year), then they can receive 100 percent of their survivor benefits.
   
• Children. Generally, children can receive 75 percent of their deceased parent’s benefit. However, there is a limit to how much a family as a whole can receive. Individual family members’ payments might be decreased in order to stay below the limit.

If a person is eligible for survivor benefits and other Social Security benefits, such as retirement benefits, they can choose the benefit that best suits their needs. They can switch benefit options later, but they cannot receive multiple benefits at the same time. For example, a person can start receiving survivor benefits and then switch to retirement benefits when they reach 70 years old, which is when their retirement payments would be highest.

Spouses or some minor children may also be eligible for a one-time death benefit payment of $255.

Why These Benefits Matter

Spousal and survivor benefits exist because some families depend on one worker’s income. These benefits help support older spouses who may not have worked outside the home or earned enough for full retirement benefits. They also protect widows, widowers, and children from financial hardship after the death of a breadwinner. Millions of Americans rely on these benefits every month, highlighting their importance as a financial lifeline.

Understanding spousal and survivor benefits is important for retirement and estate planning. Decisions about when to claim Social Security benefits can affect not only the worker’s income but also the benefits that a spouse or survivor may receive later.

Learn More

For additional reading on topics related to Social Security, check out the following articles:

• Does Divorce Affect Social Security Spousal Benefits?
• 10 Ways to Maximize Your Social Security Retirement Benefits
• How Continuing to Work Affects Social Security Benefits