How Social Security Benefits Change After a Spouse’s Death

Few people want to think about the loss of a spouse, but for retirees, it can create a vulnerable financial moment. Knowing how Social Security may change can help you prepare.

For many retirees, Social Security is a major source of income, and those payments can shift after a spouse dies. Here is what may happen and how couples can plan ahead.

Social Security survivor benefit basics

Surviving spouses may be eligible for survivor benefits. These benefits can begin as early as age 60, although claiming before full retirement age reduces the amount. At full retirement age, which is 66 or 67, a surviving spouse may receive as much as 100% of the deceased spouse’s benefit. There are exceptions, including cases where the surviving spouse is caring for a child under 16 or a child with a disability.

If you are already collecting benefits based on your spouse’s work record, the Social Security Administration will adjust your payments to survivor benefits. If your current benefits are based on your own earnings, the agency says you should call or visit to review your options.

“We’ll check to see if you can get more money as a surviving spouse,” the agency says in a recent guide. “If so, you’ll get a combination of benefits that equals the higher amount.”

In most situations, a marriage must have lasted at least nine months for a surviving spouse to qualify, though deaths caused by accidents are an exception. Divorced spouses may also qualify if the marriage lasted at least 10 years.

Ways to increase survivor benefits

The size of the higher earner’s Social Security check determines the ceiling for survivor benefits. In general, the longer that person waits to claim, the larger the eventual benefit can be.

For that reason, the spouse with the higher lifetime earnings may benefit from delaying Social Security until age 70, depending on the family’s circumstances. The spouse with lower earnings may choose to claim earlier. When spouses file at different ages, this is often called a “split strategy.”

Closing the income gap

Although these conversations can be difficult, preparing for a “survivor income gap” from the start of retirement can help couples handle a worst-case scenario. Even with survivor benefits, the surviving spouse will no longer have both benefits contributing to household income.

Some people use life insurance to help replace lost Social Security income. It also helps to save as much as possible while working, since stronger savings can create more choices later in retirement.

Understanding your current finances can help you make decisions before a crisis arrives. Social Security’s website offers calculators, including tools for estimating survivor benefits. Those estimates can help you and your spouse plan for the future.