Janice’s husband died suddenly last year after having a stroke. The couple were a few years away from retirement. Janice, 62, was waiting to claim Social Security at 65 when she’d also be eligible for Medicare benefits.
Her late husband made more money over the course of his career, so he would have received a bigger Social Security retirement benefit. Now she’s wondering if she can collect both his retirement benefit and her own at the same time, or if that would cause problems.
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The short answer is no. Here’s a more detailed look at what Social Security benefits you are entitled to after your spouse dies.
How a spouse’s death impacts retirement benefits
Social Security provides a variety of benefits: retirement, survivors and disability. Retirement benefits include both retired-worker benefits and spousal benefits.
A married couple who are of retirement age are eligible for two checks from the Social Security Administration (SSA):
- either two retired-worker benefits if both partners worked, or
- one retired-worker benefit and one spousal benefit for the spouse who doesn’t have a retired-worker benefit.
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A spousal benefit can be as much as 50% of a retired worker’s primary insurance amount. If their working spouse passes away, the spousal benefit is converted into a survivors benefit.
If you’re a surviving spouse, like Janice, you can claim either your retired-worker benefit or your late spouse’s, but not both.
Similarly, you can claim either a retirement benefit or a survivors benefit, but not both.
You’ll receive whichever is higher, but not the total of two benefits added together.
According to The National Academy of Social Insurance, this may substantially lower a surviving spouse’s income.
That’s because they’re only receiving one monthly Social Security benefit instead of enjoying the combined household income of two benefits — which they could have collected as long as their spouse was alive.
The amount Janice will receive is based on her late husband’s work record and whether he reached full retirement age, which typically falls between 66 and 67 years of age.
You can claim your retirement benefit as early as 62, but your benefits will be reduced by a small percentage each month before full retirement age.
After reaching your full retirement age, you’ll get a monthly bump in your check until you reach age 70.
If a surviving spouse is already getting benefits based on their own work record, they should contact the SSA to find out if they can get more money from collecting survivor benefits.
What you need to know about survivors benefits
About 5.8 million Americans received Social Security survivors benefits in May, including widows and widowers, with an average monthly survivors benefit of roughly $1,566.66, according to the Social Security Administration.
You may be eligible for survivors benefits if you’re the spouse, ex-spouse or child of someone who worked and paid Social Security taxes before they died. To be eligible, you must be 60 or older. Or, you must be 50 or older if you have a disability that occurred within seven years of your spouse’s death.
In some cases, age doesn’t matter. If you care for children from the marriage who have a disability or are under 16, you can also apply for survivor benefits regardless of age.
Another factor is your current marital status. If you remarry before the age of 60 (or 50 if you have a disability), you’ll no longer be eligible for survivors benefits. But remarrying after age 60 won’t impact your eligibility.
Since Janice isn’t ready to retire, she can keep working while she receives a survivors benefit prior to reaching her full retirement age, but her benefit could be reduced if she goes over her earnings limit, which for 2025 is $23,400.
Other family members could also qualify for survivors benefits, including ex-spouses and dependent children. If several members qualify for benefits, you’ll need to keep the family maximum benefit in mind, since exceeding that limit will reduce benefit payments.
If your spouse passes away, you should contact the SSA right away. You’ll receive a $255 lump sum death payment, but you can also discuss your options.
For example, you could start with survivors benefits and then switch to your retired-worker benefit at age 70, when that payment is highest.
But if you’re already receiving your late spouse’s retirement benefit, you can’t apply for a survivors benefit unless the amount will be higher than your current benefit.
There are a lot of factors to consider, so it could be worth sitting down with a financial advisor to crunch the numbers.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
