Social Security Survivor Benefits: Who Qualifies and How Much They Pay

Social Security survivor benefits are monthly payments to the family of a worker who paid Social Security taxes and then died. A widow or widower can start them at 60, at 50 with a disability, or at any age while caring for the worker’s child under 16.

Children, some former spouses and dependent parents can qualify too.

The amount depends on the worker’s earnings record and on who you are. A surviving spouse gets between 71.5% and 100% of the worker’s full benefit, a child gets 75%, and a dependent parent gets 82.5%.

A family cap and an earnings limit can lower those figures, and the 3.6% cost-of-living raise lifts every check in January 2027.

This guide works through each rule using the Social Security Administration (SSA) survivor pages, its program reference for the benefit formulas and the 2027 COLA fact sheet. It also shows the math with a sample family, so you can see how the rules interact.

Key Takeaways

• A widow or widower can claim at 60 (50 if disabled), or at any age while caring for the worker’s child who is under 16 or disabled. A former spouse needs a marriage of at least 10 years.
• Payments run from 71.5% of the worker’s full benefit at age 60 up to 100% at survivor full retirement age (66 to 67). Children get 75%. One dependent parent gets 82.5%.
• The whole family is capped at roughly 150% to 180% of the worker’s benefit. A former spouse’s check does not count toward that cap.
• Spouses and some children can also get a one-time $255 payment. You must apply for it within 2 years of the death.
• You cannot apply online for monthly survivor benefits. Call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 or book an office visit, and do it soon, because most survivor claims pay from the application date.

How do Social Security survivor benefits work?

Survivor benefits replace part of a worker’s earnings after death. SSA takes the worker’s primary insurance amount (PIA), the full monthly benefit at full retirement age, and pays each eligible relative a set share of it. The worker’s earnings, not the survivor’s, decide the base amount.

That base figure exists even if the worker never claimed a check. A person who died at 45 still has a PIA built from the earnings on their record, and SSA calculates it for the family when they apply.

SSA describes this as insurance you earn while working. Its Survivors Benefits booklet says the value of this protection “is probably more than the value of your individual life insurance.”

Three things then shape what each person receives. Your relationship to the worker sets the percentage. Your age when you claim can reduce it. The family maximum can scale everyone back when several relatives draw on one record.

Survivors can also get Medicare on the worker’s record. SSA says you might qualify “if you’re 65 or older, or you have a disability or end-stage renal disease (ESRD).” Our Medicare program guide covers the parts and costs once you are enrolled.

Who qualifies for Social Security survivor benefits?

You may qualify if you are the spouse, former spouse, child or dependent parent of a worker who earned enough work credits. Each group has its own age and relationship test, listed below, and every claimant must also show the worker was insured.

Widows and widowers

According to SSA’s eligibility page, a surviving spouse usually needs to meet all three of these tests:

• Be age 60 or older, or age 50 to 59 with a disability.
• Have been married for at least 9 months before the spouse died.
• Not have remarried before age 60 (age 50 with a disability).

The 60 starting age is two years earlier than the first age you can claim your own retirement benefit at 62. That gap matters when you plan which benefit to take first, covered further down.

Spouses caring for a young child

The age and marriage-length tests drop away if you care for the worker’s child. SSA’s survivor toolkit lists a spouse of “any age and caring for the deceased’s child who is younger than age 16, or who has a disability, and is receiving Social Security benefits.”

SSA calls this a mother’s or father’s benefit. It pays 75% of the worker’s PIA and stops when the youngest child turns 16, unless the child has a disability. At 60 you can switch to a regular widow’s or widower’s benefit on the same record.

Divorced spouses

A former spouse can collect if the marriage lasted at least 10 years. SSA’s March 2026 survivor post adds two points: this works “even if your spouse remarried,” and you must be single “unless your remarriage occurred after age 60.”

The 10-year rule does not apply if you are caring for the worker’s child under 16. SSA says you “might be eligible regardless of age and how long you were married” in that situation.

A former spouse’s check also sits outside the family cap. SSA states that benefits for a surviving divorced spouse “do not affect the maximum benefit to the family,” so claiming it never shrinks the payments to a current widow or the children.

Children

A child of the worker can get benefits if unmarried and one of these applies:

• Age 17 or younger.
• Age 18 or 19 and a full-time student in grade 12 or below.
• Any age with a disability that started before 22.

Stepchildren, adopted children, grandchildren and step-grandchildren can qualify in some cases. When a child turns 18 and is still in high school, SSA asks for Form SSA-1372 so the payments do not stop early.

SSA asks for Social Security numbers when you apply. If a card is lost in the shuffle after a death, our guide on how to replace a Social Security card walks through the free replacement process.

Dependent parents

Parents age 62 or older can qualify if the worker paid at least half of their support. Families often overlook this benefit, so ask SSA about it if the worker paid at least half of a parent’s support.

Did the worker earn enough credits?

Each claim also depends on the worker’s record. The younger the worker was at death, the fewer credits the family needs. SSA’s booklet says “no one needs more than 10 years of work to be eligible for any Social Security benefit.”

A special rule helps young families. Children and a spouse caring for the worker’s child can be paid if the worker was “currently insured,” meaning 6 credits earned in the 13 calendar quarters that end with the quarter of death. That is roughly 1.5 years of work in the last 3 years.

In 2027, one credit takes $1,970 in earnings, up from $1,890 in 2026, according to the SSA 2027 fact sheet. A worker earns at most 4 credits a year. Our work credits explainer shows how credits build up over a career.

How much do Social Security survivor benefits pay?

Each survivor gets a fixed share of the worker’s PIA. A widow or widower at survivor full retirement age gets 100%. A child or a spouse caring for a young child gets 75%. One dependent parent gets 82.5%, or 75% each when two parents qualify. A spouse claiming at 60 gets 71.5%.

The table below works as a survivor benefits pay chart. The rates come from SSA’s program reference and its survivor amount page.

Survivor	Share of worker’s full benefit (PIA)	When it applies
Widow or widower at survivor full retirement age	100%	Age 66 to 67, depending on birth year
Widow or widower, age 60 to full retirement age	71.5% rising to 100%	Reduced for each month before full retirement age
Disabled widow or widower, age 50 to 59	71.5%	Same rate as a claim at 60
Spouse of any age caring for the worker’s child	75%	Child under 16 or disabled
Child	75%	Under 18, 18 to 19 in high school, or disabled before 22
One dependent parent	82.5%	Age 62 or older, at least half support from the worker
Two dependent parents	75% each	Same tests as above
Former spouse (10-year marriage)	Same as a widow or widower	Not counted in the family maximum

If the worker claimed early: the widow’s limit

Many people assume a widow inherits the exact check the spouse was getting. The real rule is different, and it can work in your favor. If the worker took a reduced retirement benefit early, SSA caps a widow’s benefit at the higher of two amounts.

Those two amounts are 82.5% of the worker’s PIA, or what the worker would be receiving if still alive. This limit applies to widows and widowers first entitled at 62 or later.

Here is a sample case. Say the worker’s PIA was $2,000, but he claimed early and was being paid $1,400. A widow who waits until survivor full retirement age gets the higher figure: 82.5% of $2,000, which is $1,650. She does not get only the $1,400 he was receiving.

The reverse also helps. If the worker delayed retirement past full retirement age and earned delayed retirement credits, SSA’s program reference says the widow’s benefit is “increased by any delayed retirement credit” the worker would be receiving.

Does a widow get the full amount of her husband’s Social Security?

Usually yes, if she waits until her survivor full retirement age, between 66 and 67. A claim at 60 pays 71.5% of the worker’s PIA, and the amount rises each month you wait. If the worker claimed early, the widow’s limit applies instead.

SSA’s survivor page gives over 80% at 63 and over 90% at 65 as examples. Under the widow’s limit, she gets the higher of the check he was actually receiving or 82.5% of his PIA.

Survivor full retirement age runs on its own schedule. SSA says it is “not always the same as the Full Retirement Age for Retirement benefits.” Use SSA’s survivor full retirement age tool with your birth date to see yours.

The reduction is spread so that a claim at exactly 60 always lands at a 28.5% cut. For someone born in 1960, survivor full retirement age is 66 and 8 months. The benefit drops about 0.356% for each of the 80 months before that age.

Take that 1960 birth year. A widow who claims at 63 is 44 months early. Multiply 44 by 0.356% and the cut is about 15.7%, so she would get roughly 84% of the worker’s PIA. That matches SSA’s “over 80% at age 63.”

Disabled widows and widowers work differently. If you claim between 50 and 59 because of a disability, you get the 71.5% rate no matter your exact age. It does not get worse the younger you are.

How does the family maximum limit payments?

The family maximum is the most SSA will pay in total on one worker’s record each month. SSA’s booklet puts it between 150% and 180% of the worker’s benefit. When the shares add up to more, SSA lowers each person’s payment, except a former spouse’s, until the total fits.

SSA’s actuaries set the exact cap with a formula. For a worker who dies in 2027 before age 62, the 2027 family maximum formula adds up these four slices of the worker’s PIA:

• 150% of the first $1,712.
• 272% of the amount over $1,712 through $2,471.
• 134% of the amount over $2,471 through $3,223.
• 175% of the amount over $3,223.

Now apply it to a sample family, as an example only. The worker dies in 2027 before turning 62, and the PIA is $2,000. The surviving spouse cares for two children, ages 9 and 13. On paper each of the three is due 75%, or $1,500, for a total of $4,500 a month.

The cap for a $2,000 PIA works out to $2,568 plus $783.36, or about $3,351. Because $4,500 is over that, SSA cuts each of the three shares to about $1,117 so the family total fits.

The picture changes as the children grow. When the 13-year-old ages out, only two people remain on the record. Their full $1,500 shares add to $3,000, which is under the cap, so both get the full amount and the household check falls less than you might expect.

For comparison, SSA’s 2027 fact sheet estimates the average check for a widowed mother with two children at $4,074 a month for the whole family. If you are budgeting after a death, plan around the family total, not each person’s percentage.

What is the $255 death payment and who gets it?

The lump-sum death payment is a one-time $255 payment. It goes to a surviving spouse who lived with the worker, or to a spouse living apart who can get benefits on the worker’s record. If there is no spouse, a child eligible for benefits in the month of death can get it.

The amount has not moved in decades. SSA’s legislative tables show the payment was set at “3 times PIA with maximum of $255” in 1954, and it remains “effectively fixed at $255.” It was never indexed to inflation.

You must apply within 2 years of the death, according to SSA’s lump-sum death payment page.

A spouse already receiving spouse benefits on the worker’s record is switched to survivor benefits automatically, but SSA says “you should still call us for the lump sum payment.” SSA’s lump-sum page now also offers an online application for the $255 through a my Social Security account.

A related rule catches many families off guard. If the worker was already getting benefits, SSA says any payment “received for the month of death and any later months are not due and must be returned.” Ask the bank to send back direct deposits for those months, and do not cash a paper check.

Once survivor payments start, the deposit day follows the birthday of the worker whose record you are paid on, not your own. Our Social Security payment schedule lists the exact dates for each month.

Can you collect survivor benefits and your own retirement benefit?

Not both at once. SSA pays the higher of the two, and the amounts are never added together. You can, however, take one first and switch to the other later, which can raise your lifetime total if you time it well.

SSA’s survivor amount page spells this out: “You can also switch benefits later. For example, you could start with Survivor benefits and then change to Retirement at age 70 when that payment is highest.” The switch can run either way.

Two common orders work for many people:

• Survivor first, own benefit at 70. This suits someone whose own record is strong. You take the survivor check from 60 while your own retirement benefit grows with delayed credits, then you switch.
• Own benefit first, survivor at full retirement age. This suits someone whose survivor benefit is the larger one. You claim your own reduced benefit at 62, then switch to the full, unreduced survivor benefit at survivor full retirement age.

Which order wins depends on the two PIAs and your health. Ask SSA to quote both benefits at several ages when you call. Your own estimate is also on your my Social Security account at ssa.gov.

If you already receive disability benefits on your own record, SSA checks whether the survivor amount is higher. The SSDI program guide covers how disability payments are figured, and SSI vs SSDI explains why survivor checks can reduce SSI, which is means-tested.

Public employees have a new reason to apply. The Social Security Fairness Act, signed January 5, 2025, ended the Government Pension Offset. That rule used to shrink or erase surviving spouse benefits for people with a pension from work not covered by Social Security.

The offset no longer applies to benefits for January 2024 and later.

SSA says people who never applied because of the offset “may need to file an application.” If you were turned away years ago because of a teacher’s or government pension, call SSA to file a new application for survivor benefits. Back pay is still limited to about 6 months before the application.

What can stop or reduce survivor benefits?

The main things that block or cut survivor benefits are remarriage before 60, earnings above the yearly limit before full retirement age, a marriage shorter than 9 months, a child aging out, and a worker without enough credits. Each one is explained below.

Remarriage

Remarrying before 60, or before 50 if you have a disability, usually ends your right to benefits as a surviving spouse. SSA’s booklet says remarriage after those ages “won’t prevent you from getting benefit payments based on your former spouse’s work.”

After a remarriage at 60 or later, you may also qualify on your new spouse’s record. SSA’s booklet says that “at age 62 or older, you can get benefits on your new spouse’s work, if those benefits would be higher.” You still get only the higher one.

An early remarriage is not always permanent. SSA’s remarriage guidance says that if you remarry before 60 “and that marriage ends, you may be able to get benefits on your previous deceased spouse’s record.” Report every change in marital status to SSA.

Working while you collect

You can work and get survivor benefits, but an earnings test applies until you reach full retirement age. For 2027, SSA withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above $25,560 ($2,130 a month). The 2026 limit was $24,480.

In the year you reach full retirement age, the 2027 limit rises to $67,920, and SSA withholds $1 for every $3 above it, counting only earnings before the month you reach full retirement age. From the month you reach full retirement age, there is no limit.

Here is the math for a 61-year-old widow who earns $35,560 in 2027. She is $10,000 over the limit, so SSA withholds $5,000 of her survivor benefits that year.

Other common reasons

• A short marriage. Most spouses need at least 9 months of marriage before the death. Caring for the worker’s child is the common exception.
• A child ages out. Child benefits end at 18, or 19 for a full-time high school student, unless the child became disabled before 22.
• Not enough work credits. If the worker was neither fully nor currently insured, no monthly survivor benefits are payable.
• A divorce before 10 years. A former spouse with a shorter marriage generally cannot claim, unless caring for the worker’s child.

Can you apply for Social Security survivor benefits online?

No. SSA states plainly: “You cannot apply for Survivor benefits online.” You apply by phone at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, or by booking an appointment at a local Social Security office.

The funeral home usually reports the death for you. SSA says “funeral homes generally tell us when someone dies,” so you rarely need a separate call just to report it. You do need to call to claim benefits, unless you were already paid as a spouse or child on the worker’s record.

Steps to apply

1. Call SSA, or schedule an office visit, as soon as you can after the death.
2. Ask about every benefit at once: the $255 lump sum, monthly benefits for you, and benefits for any children.
3. Have the worker’s Social Security number ready. If you do not have it, SSA can use their date of birth and parents’ names.
4. Ask SSA to compare your survivor benefit with your own retirement benefit at several claiming ages.
5. Gather the documents below, but do not wait for all of them before you call.

Documents SSA may ask for

• Proof of the worker’s death, from the funeral home or a death certificate.
• Your Social Security number and the worker’s number.
• Your marriage certificate, or divorce papers if you are a former spouse.
• Names of the worker’s employers for the past 2 years.
• Your bank routing and account numbers for direct deposit.

SSA wants original documents or copies certified by the agency that issued them, and it returns originals. Form SSA-10 lists the full set of questions for widows, widowers and surviving divorced spouses.

Why waiting can cost you money

SSA’s toolkit for organizations is blunt: “Benefits are paid from the date of the application, and not from the date of death.” The SSA Handbook allows up to 6 months of back payments on some survivor claims, but not when they would cause a permanent reduction.

In practice, a widow under survivor full retirement age who files late usually loses the months she missed. One exception helps: a widow who files in the month after the death may be paid for the month of death itself, if eligible then.

How does the 2027 COLA change survivor checks?

Survivor benefits rise 3.6% starting with the checks paid in January 2027. SSA estimates the average aged widow or widower living alone will go from $1,936 to $2,005 a month. A widowed mother or father with two children goes from $3,932 to $4,074 on average.

The raise applies to every check, including reduced ones. A survivor paid $1,500 in December 2026 would get about $1,554 in the check paid in January 2027, since $1,500 times 1.036 is $1,554.

The COLA also moves the limits around survivor benefits. The earnings test rises to $25,560 for those under full retirement age. A work credit now takes $1,970 of earnings, which matters for a young worker whose family may later need the currently insured rule.

One figure the COLA never touches is the $255 lump sum. Its $255 cap dates from 1954 and has been effectively fixed ever since, while monthly benefits have had automatic cost-of-living adjustments since 1975.

Survivors who also have Medicare should check the Part B premium, because it is usually taken out of the same check. Our guide to the Medicare Part B premium has the current amount, and help for people with low income on Medicare covers programs that pay it.

Other survivor help to check

Social Security is not the only program for families after a death. If the worker was a veteran, the spouse and children may also qualify for VA survivor programs, which are run by the VA and applied for separately.

Our CHAMPVA guide covers health coverage for some surviving spouses and children of veterans, including how remarriage affects it. If household income drops sharply, check SSI for a disabled child or an older parent with little income.

Related reading

• SSDI back pay: how disability back payments are figured and paid.
• How to apply for SSDI: the steps if you also have a disability of your own.
• SSI income limit: how other income, survivor checks included, affects SSI.
• Medicare Savings Programs: help paying Medicare premiums on a fixed income.