Losing a loved one is never an easy thing to go through, least of all when you are financially dependent on them, and you fear economic insecurity upon their death. For the family members of those on Social Security there may be some good news, some of them will still be entitled to benefits and even be entitled to a higher amount now that the “breadwinner” is no longer with us.

Usually, a retiree’s Social Security check is based on their record, but the Social Security Administration (SSA) provides benefits to spouses and children of workers in many cases as long as some requirements are met. Sometimes even the parents of deceased workers ae entitled to benefits if they are classified as dependents. Those who are eligible usually fall in one of three categories:

Spouses and ex-spouses

For those who were married to a deceased worker, you may be eligible if you meet the following criteria:

• Are age 60 or older, or age 50–59 if you have a disability, and
• Were married for at least 9 months before your spouse’s death, and
• Didn’t remarry before age 60 (age 50 if you have a disability).

You did not have to be married at the time of the death to receive this benefit. Ex-spouses who were married for at least 10 years, as well as some valid non-marital legal relationships, may be eligible. Depending on the situation, you might be eligible regardless of age and how long you were married, like, for example, if you’re caring for a child of the person who died. This eligibility does not mean you will get 100% of the deceased worker’s benefits automatically in every case, there is a scale to the payments.

Payments start at 71.5% of your spouse’s benefit and increase the longer you wait to apply, for example, if you claim at age 61 you will likely get over 75% of the original benefit payment, over 80% if you wait until age 63 and over 90% if you delay until age 65. Having said that, if you are able to delay your claim until you reach your “Full Retirement Age for Survivor benefits” (between ages 66–67) you will likely be eligible for up to 100% of the benefits.

Still, conditions apply, and your benefits may be reduced by many reasons, like for example if you’re getting a pension from government work or you have your own benefits that you can draw from.

Children

The children of deceased workers may be eligible if they’re unmarried and are:

• Age 17 and younger, or
• Ages 18–19 and in school (K–12) full time, or
• Any age if they developed a disability at age 21 or younger.

Children do not need to be biological or even directly related to the deceased workers, stepchildren, adopted children, grandchildren, and step grandchildren can be eligible for benefits in some circumstances if they are able to prove that they were financially supported by the deceased. In some cases, even married children may be eligible, although the circumstances are specific and must be reviewed in a case by case basis.

Children generally get 75% of the parent’s benefit. However, there’s a limit to how much a family can receive, called the “family maximum.” And so, the SSA may lower everyone’s payments to stay under this limit. Ex-spouses don’t count toward the family maximum.

Dependent parents

You might be eligible if you are:

• Age 62 or older and
• Were financially supported by your child who died.

Other Social Security benefits you may be entitled to

Even though it is not technically a Social Security benefit, you may be eligible for Medicare based on the deceased person’s record, but that is not incompatible with survivor benefits. Meanwhile, if you are eligible for Survivor and another benefit you will have to choose the payment that is the best for you, as benefits cannot be stacked. Having said that, you are not pigeonholed into a type of benefit, you could start with Survivor benefits and then change to Retirement

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at age 70 when that payment is highest.