Survivor benefits give monthly payments to family members, who qualify, of people who worked and paid taxes but passed away claims the Social Security Administration. That is, a spouse may receive monthly survivor benefits if his or her wife or husband dies but paid taxes to SSA as they worked.
Who can get Social Security survivor benefits?
Bear in mind that there is limited access to these monthly payments. Hence, only some family members can receive survivor benefits. Here is the full list of family members who the Administration allows to get benefits:
- dependent parent
- divorced spouse
- child
- spouse
*For your information, the worker must have paid enough payroll taxes to Social Security before he or she passed away.
If you would like to know if your family can receive survivor benefits on your record, you can simply download a Social Security Statement. It is possible to get it from home online and it is free.
Can Social Security survivor benefits qualify you for other benefits?
The Social Security Administration claims that apart from a monthly payment, some recipients may get Medicare as well. Of course, on the work history of the worker who passed away. Once you start receiving survivor benefits, there are a few things you may need to report.
For example, it is necessary to report any changes regarding income, work, and personal information. Usually, a funeral home will report to the SSA that a worker passed away. However, may sure they offer that service.
A surviving spouse or child lump-sum death payment is available and eligible recipients can get $255 if eligible. Survivor benefits are on average 1,509.50 as of July 2024. So, if you happen to be in this situation, apply for survivor benefits.
- Children of deceased workers: $1,103.54
Widowed mothers and fathers: $1,284.42
Nondisabled widow(er)s: $1,784.31
Disabled widow(er)s: $928.25
Parents of deceased workers: $1,612.94
source: https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/quickfacts/stat_snapshot/