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Honest, I tried figuring out a few things from social security administration -- they're not answering the phones now, "too busy." "Later," the phone announcement says after a million recorded announcements. So here I am asking you nice people for help. Here's the question:
My husband and I both get social security. If one of us dies, we're married a long time -- how much of the benefits of the deceased spouse does the living spouse receive? 50% of the deceased spouse's benefit while alive?
I believe the surviving spouse benefit would equal the maximum of the two benefits (of deceased and surviving spouses). The following link will give you the complete information.
The linked Thrivent article reads as if the surviving spouse receives 100% of the larger of the two SS benefits paid to the married couple, but only one monthly benefit payment.
Even this kick-in-the-teeth might be subject to age related limits, i.e. pre or post FRA death.
I previously thought the survivor received 100% of their own benefit plus 50% of the deceased's benefit, but not less than 100% of the larger of the two previous bebefitnpsyments. Obviously I was wrong.
Application process is so complicated that the SSA requires an in-person application.
What you are asking about is called the survivor benefit. There's also a death benefit in some cases... a small one-time payment, but that's not the benefit you're asking about. So if you call the SSA be sure to inquire about the survivor benefit.
Here's an explanation from the SSA (Edit: I see this is the same page that kavm already mentioned)...
It seems a bit of a partial explanation. If the deceased spouse was already collecting a SS benefit the explanation seems sufficient. But to me it's not clear what happens if deceased spouse had not yet filed.
Depends if you used a candlestick, dagger, revolver, lead pipe, wrench, or a rope... and depends where you did it (the Kitchen, Ballroom, Conservatory, Billiard Room, Library, Study, Hall, Lounge or the Dining Room.)
The surviving spouse’s benefit will be the larger of the two benefits received by the couple.
That is why it is usually advantageous for the higher earner of the two to take their benefit at age 70 (so whoever survives gets the maximum benefit possible - for example, 128% of the Primary Insurance Amount of the higher earner, if the higher earner was born in 1957 and has a Full Retirement Age of 66 and 6 months).
If the surviving spouse takes their survivor benefit before their Full Retirement Age, there will be a reduction in the benefit for each month the benefit is started before their Full Retirement Age.
A very helpful tool in modeling the different possible situations and their impact on social security benefits is Open Social Security:
Social security is very complicated and it might behoove one to get a book on the subject, such as Social Security Made Simple by Mike Piper (which may be available at your local library):
survivor benefits can get pretty confusing as a lot depends on age of the survivor and when the deceased filed
Let’s look at linda .
Her husband Paul passed away when she was 60. Let’s assume that Paul had a PIA of $2,000. The Widow Benefit Linda could receive is based both on when Paul claimed and when Linda decides to claim that benefit. So let’s look at a variety of scenarios to illustrate how Linda’s widow benefit will be affected. Figure 2 illustrates.
If Paul died at 66 and never elected, Linda would be able to claim up to the full $2,000. If Linda were 60 when she claimed, she would receive 71.5% percent of the benefit, or $1,430 per month. If she waited until age 66 to claim, she would receive the full $2,000.
If Paul claimed at 62 and was receiving $1,500 (75% of his PIA) per month until his death at age 66, Linda would only be entitled to up to $1,500 under the basic rule outlined above. However, in this case, there is another provision that would impact her benefit amount. It is known as the “Widow Limit,” which caps widows’ benefits at the higher of the amount of the deceased spouse’s benefit, or 82.5% of the deceased spouse’s PIA. If Linda elected her widow’s benefit at age 60, she would still receive the maximum reduction—down to $1,430 per month—but if she waited to 66, the most she could receive is $1,650, not the entire $2,000.
In this case, Linda would not want to delay taking her widow’s benefit for any more than 28 months (to age 62 and 4 months) because it would not increase any further due to the Widow’s Limit.
If Paul began receiving Social Security at age 70, his benefit would have been $2,640. If he died one month later, Linda would receive up to $2,640, provided she claimed her Aged Widow’s benefit at 66, or $1,887 per month if she claimed at age 60.
Problem that wants addressing is continued high rates of poverty in elderly especially women including widows.
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