What Happens to Your Social Security When Your Spouse Dies

What are Social Security survivor benefits?

It's hard enough losing a partner without having to worry about money, and that's where Social Security Survivor Benefits can help. Survivor benefits are designed to help fill the income gap when a partner passes. Under this benefit, eligible survivors, like widows and widowers, receive monthly payments from Social Security.

Many people misunderstand how the Social Security Survivor benefit works, believing that they will receive their Social Security Retirement benefit and the Social Security Survivor's benefit. This is incorrect. As a beneficiary, you'll receive either your Social Security retirement benefit or the survivor's benefit, whichever is higher. In other words, if your Social Security retirement benefit is lower than the survivor's benefit, you can receive a top-up payment that raises your income to the higher amount.

If you've been married for nine months or more or if you were married and have had a child by that person, you may be able to benefit from their Social Security survivor benefits. And if you were married to that person for ten years or more, you may even claim benefits after you have divorced them.

The average payment in September 2026 was about $1,935 per month, paid to around 3.5 million widows and widowers of 60 years or older. This figure covers only people who were paid solely as widows or widowers. It usually doesn't include people who also collected a retirement benefit based on their own work record.

Bear in mind, the average amount is just that. Your personal survivor benefit is likely to be different. The amount will depend on the earning history of your late spouse, your age when you claim, and whether you receive a benefit of your own.

Social Security calculates the benefit you receive from the Social Security work record of the deceased person. A work record is Social Security's history of a person's pay.

To qualify for survivor's benefits, your spouse must have worked for a set amount of time during which they paid Social Security taxes. The amount of time they must work depends on their age at death. The widow or widower of a person who was younger when they died may benefit with fewer years of work than from one who died at an older age. Either way, ten years is the maximum amount of time a person must work for their dependents to become eligible for Social Security benefits. Social Security can say whether your spouse worked long enough.

Do survivor's benefits apply to you?

The survivor's benefit aims to provide family members with assistance with living expenses.

Survivors who may benefit include:

• A surviving spouse who has reached their 60th birthday or is between 50 and 59 and disabled. You must have been married for at least nine months, though there are some exceptions to this rule, one of which is an accidental death. If you remarry before you turn 60 (50 if you are disabled), you usually won't benefit from the survivor's benefit, though you can still benefit if you marry after your 60th birthday (50th if you are disabled). If a marriage before that age has ended, you may be able to qualify again. Contact Social Security if you are uncertain about your right to survivor's benefits.
• You may qualify at any age, regardless of how long you were married, as a widow or widower looking after the deceased person's child who is under 16 or their disabled child, as long as the child receives benefits on the deceased person's work record. These benefits will usually stop if you remarry, and you usually can't get them while you're married.
• You could qualify for survivor's benefits even if you were divorced at the time of the death. To qualify, you must usually have been married for ten years and have reached the qualifying age. The same remarriage rules apply under these circumstances. If you are caring for a child of both of you and aren't married now, the age and 10-year rules might not apply, so call Social Security.
• Survivor's support also applies to the deceased person's unmarried children who are under 18, or 18 or 19 and in school full time through the 12th grade. Unmarried children who became disabled before the age of 22 also qualify.
• If the deceased provided their parents with at least half of their living expenses, those parents may be able to claim the benefit if they are 62 or older.

Your numbers: how Social Security calculates the survivor's benefit

Social Security figures your check in three steps:

1. Start with your spouse's full benefit. That's what their check would be at their full retirement age, between 65 and 67 depending on the year they were born. If they waited past that age to start, or died after it without starting, their benefit grew, so use that bigger amount instead. Our article on the average Social Security check shows how the full benefit is figured.
2. Apply your share, which depends on your age when you start. At 60 you get 71.5%, and the share rises a little each month until you get 100% at 67 (between 66 and 67 for most people born before 1962). With a disability, you can start at 50 and get 71.5%.
3. If your spouse started their check early, there's a cap. Your check can't be more than the bigger of their check or 82.5% of their full benefit.

Let's assume you were born in 1962 or later. At the time of the bereavement, the person who died was entitled to a full benefit of $1,600 a month. They had started to collect their own check, having reached full retirement age, though the same calculation would apply had they died before that age without receiving a check. The table below shows the amounts a surviving spouse would receive, depending on the age they start the check.

If you are already past the age for 100% when you start, you should receive the highest amount of $1,600.

If you have your own full benefit of $900, starting at 67, you will still receive $1,600 (your $900 topped up by $700). Many people incorrectly expect a final amount of $2,500.

If your check comes out lower. Some survivors may receive less than they expected from the survivor's benefit. The amount paid depends on when the deceased first drew retirement benefits. If they started before their full retirement age, a widow's, widower's or ex's check has a limit. The limit is the larger of 82.5% of the full benefit, or the reduced check that person would have received if they were alive.

In the example, the limit would have been $1,320 if they had started three or more years early. The limit is $1,320, or 82.5% of the full retirement amount. In that case, the checks at 63, 65, and 67 would all be $1,320 instead of the amounts in the table. The check at 60 is already under the limit, so it doesn't change.

Here's the whole picture for the same example, by the age your spouse started their own check and the age you start yours:

Social Security allows you to change from a survivor's benefit to your retirement benefit or vice versa. Call Social Security to find out how.

Others in the family. Of course, the surviving spouse is not necessarily the only beneficiary. A child generally receives $1,200 in the example, or 75% of the full benefit, so does a widow or widower of any age who cares for the child. A dependent parent can expect 82.5% of the full benefit. If the deceased has two dependent parents, each will receive 75%.

There is a ceiling on how much a family can receive from one worker's record. When benefits go over the monthly ceiling, Social Security will reduce them. Usually, an ex's check doesn't count toward the family limit.

The one-time $255. A spouse who lived with the deceased, or who can get benefits based on the deceased person's work record, might get a one-time $255 death benefit payment. An ex-spouse doesn't qualify for that payment even if they receive the survivor's benefit.

Contact Social Security to find out whether you'll need to complete an application for this one-time payment. There are cases in which Social Security automatically processes the payment and some that require an application. If you need to apply for this payment, you have two years from the death in which to do it.

If you work. You can claim survivor benefits if you haven't reached full retirement age yet, even if you continue to work. (This is the age for retirement checks, not the age for 100% of a survivor's check.) There is, however, an annual limit to how much you can earn and still receive your full check, if you are under that age for the whole year. The 2026 annual limit is $24,480, and $25,560 in 2027. If you earn more than the limit, Social Security will withhold $1 of your check for every $2 earned above the limit. Past that age, nothing is withheld. In the year you reach that age, call Social Security to find out how it works.

Only earnings from employment and self-employment count as earnings. Any pensions, investment income or retirement annuities don't count. Different rules apply to disabled people. Contact Social Security if you need more information.

What to do: call Social Security for an appointment and an estimate

Most funeral homes report deaths to Social Security, so you typically won't have to do this. If no funeral home is involved, call Social Security to report the death. There is no fully online application for the monthly checks. You'll need to speak to someone at Social Security. The number to call is 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). Working hours run from Monday to Friday, 8 am to 7 pm to make an appointment. The appointment can be by phone or in person.

Don't delay calling because of missing documents. As Social Security says, "We'll help you get what you need."

Use the call to provide the person with the Social Security number of the deceased. Ask them for an estimate of the survivor benefit. Note that an estimate does not start the checks coming.

You may need to apply. Social Security does make some changes automatically, usually if you were receiving spousal benefits (a check from your spouse's work record while they were alive) before the death. Contact Social Security if it isn't automatically converted. If you've been receiving your own retirement benefit, you will have to apply to receive survivor benefits. Call either way.

You choose the month in which the checks start, and you will receive your first check in the month following your chosen month. Some claims start from the month of application rather than the date of death, so be sure to ask when yours starts.

Checks are paid in arrears. The check you receive is for the month before. If the person dies in September and you receive their check in October, you must return it, as the person who dies receives no payment in the month of their death. Phone Social Security to find out how to return the funds.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Quick answers about survivor benefits

Q: Can I collect my deceased husband's Social Security and my own?

You can't add the benefits together. You will receive the higher of the two amounts. Often you'll receive your own check with a top-up. You'll have to apply for the survivor's benefit if you already claim Social Security benefits on your own work record, so call.

Q: How much survivor benefits will I get at 60?

You will receive 71.5% of the full benefit of the person who died (or of the bigger amount, if they went past their full retirement age without starting). That's $1,144 in our example. If you were born in 1962 or later and you start the check at 67, you'll receive the full benefit. If the deceased person started their own check early, you can expect less than the full amount.

Q: How long do you have to be married to get survivor benefits?

There are exceptions, but the rule of thumb is nine months. Usually, an ex must have been married for 10 years.

Sources

Checked November 5, 2026. The survivors booklet (PDF) was last read October 31, 2026.

• Social Security Administration: Who Can Get Survivor Benefits, December 2024 (who qualifies), ssa.gov; What You Could Get From Survivor Benefits, August 2025 (71.5% to 100%, not added together, switching, children's 75%, the family limit), ssa.gov; Full Retirement Age for Survivor Benefits, August 2025 (the age for 100%), ssa.gov; Survivors Benefits, April 2026 (work needed, remarriage, the top-up, caring for a child, parents, paying from the month you apply, help with documents), ssa.gov; Lump-Sum Death Payment, April 2026 (the $255), ssa.gov; What to Do When Someone Dies, May 2026 (funeral homes), ssa.gov; Apply for Survivor Benefits, October 2026 (phone numbers, hours, appointments, the start month), ssa.gov; Exempt Amounts Under the Earnings Test (the 2026 and 2027 limits), ssa.gov; Receiving Benefits While Working (which age counts, what counts as earnings), ssa.gov; Normal Retirement Age (65 to 67), ssa.gov; Social Security Handbook, section 720, February 2009 (the delayed increase passes to a widow or widower), ssa.gov; operations manual, December 2023 (the limit when they started early), ssa.gov; operations manual (the check for the month of death goes back), ssa.gov; Monthly Statistical Snapshot, September 2026 (the average check), ssa.gov
• Arcanomy calculation: the $1,600 example and the table by both spouses' ages, using Social Security's rules.