Social Security Survivors Benefits After the Death of a Disabled Worker

Losing a spouse or parent who was receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to finding sources of financial support. Social Security survivors benefits can help ease the financial burden after the death of a disabled spouse or parent, providing monthly payments to surviving spouses, children, and other eligible dependents.

This article explains who qualifies for SSDI survivors benefits and how benefit amounts are determined. Note that SSDI is a monthly disability payment that the federal government provides to individuals who have sufficient work history and earnings (see our overview of SSDI). Survivors benefits aren't available to the dependent relatives of SSI recipients; there are no SSI survivor benefits.

In this article, we'll go over the various categories of relatives who are eligible to receive survivors benefits from the survivor benefit program.

What Benefits Can Surviving Spouses of SSDI Recipients Receive?

If your spouse was receiving SSDI benefits when they passed away, you may be eligible to receive widow's or widower's benefits, if your spouse was "currently insured" before becoming disabled.

You can qualify for survivors benefits as a widow or widower in several ways. The percentage of your deceased spouse's SSDI benefit that you can receive depends on your specific eligibility category. (20 C.F.R. §404.335.)

Age of Surviving Spouse and Percent of Deceased Spouse's Benefit

Here are the categories, along with the percentage of your deceased spouse's SSDI benefit you can receive, depending on when you claim the benefit.

• You are any age and you care for a child under the age of 16 years old who receives survivors SSDI benefits from your deceased spouse (called "mother's or father's benefits").
  • You'll receive 75% of your deceased spouse's SSDI benefit.
• You're at least 50 years old and disabled, and your disability started before your spouse died or within seven years of your spouse's death (unless you were receiving mother's or father's benefits).
  • You'll receive 71.5% of your deceased spouse's SSDI benefit.
• You're at least 60 years old but not yet full retirement age.
  • You'll receive 71.5% - 99% of your deceased spouse's SSDI benefit.
• You're full retirement age or older.
  • You'll receive 100% of your deceased spouse's SSDI benefit.
    

Eligibility Rules for Surviving Spouses

There are a few special rules and exceptions that apply to surviving spouses.

Remarriage. If you remarry before the age of 60 years old, you can't receive benefits as a surviving spouse. If you get remarried after you reach the age of 60 years old, or 50 years old if you're disabled, your SSDI benefits won't be affected.

Caring for the deceased spouse's child. If a widow is receiving benefits because they're caring for a child under 16 years old who receives SSDI benefits based on the deceased spouse's earnings record, the benefits to the widow will generally end when the child turns 16 years old. However, if the child is disabled and continues to be in the care of the widow and receives SSDI benefits based on the deceased parent's earnings record, the widow can continue to receive SSDI payments as well.

Nine-month marriage requirement. In most cases, to be eligible for the surviving spouse benefit, the widow must have been married to the deceased spouse for at least nine months. However, there are many exceptions to this rule; for instance, if the deceased spouse died due to a violent accident, this requirement doesn't usually apply. The requirement is also waived if you were in a same-sex relationship and your marriage didn't meet the nine-month requirement due to discriminatory marriage laws.

Own retirement benefit. For widows who are of retirement age, the benefit that they could receive based on their own work history may be higher than the money that they receive from their deceased spouse's SSDI benefits. You can switch to your own retirement benefit as early as age 62.

Working. If you work while collecting a widow's or widower's benefit, your monthly benefit may be reduced, depending on your age and your earned income. For more information, see our article on working and survivors benefits.

Full retirement age for survivors. The full retirement age for survivors is different from the full retirement age for retirees. Also called "full benefits age," it's set by the Social Security Administration (SSA) based on the year of the surviving spouse's birth.

For more information, see our article on widow's benefits and disabled widow's benefits.

Survivors Benefits for Children of SSDI Recipients

If your parent died while receiving SSDI benefits (or was at least insured for SSDI), you may be eligible for SSDI survivor benefits. Social Security includes biological children, adopted children, and stepchildren as children of a deceased parent. In order to receive survivor benefits as a child, you must be:

• unmarried, and
• younger than 18 years old.

You'll receive 75% of your deceased parent's SSDI benefit until your 18^th birthday (payments will actually stop the month before you turn 18 years old). The amount of your payment is subject to the family maximum benefit rules (see below).

If you're 18 years old or older, you may still be able to receive Social Security survivors benefits if you're in high school or disabled. See the "Adult Children" section just below. (20 C.F.R. §404.350.)

Survivors Benefits for Adult Children of SSDI Recipients

As an adult child—a child of an SSDI recipient who is 18 years old or older—you may be eligible for Social Security survivors benefits under either of two circumstances.

• You're under 19 years old and a full-time student in a secondary school. (This includes schooling through high school only; being a full-time student at a college or university doesn't qualify you under this exception.)
• You're disabled and you became disabled before the age of 22.

Qualified adult children will receive 75% of their deceased parent's SSDI benefit, the same as children under 18. If an adult child is receiving benefits because as a full-time student, the benefits will end when school is completed or two months after turning 19, whichever comes first.

Disabled adult children (those who became disabled before age 22) will continue to receive benefits for as long as they're disabled and unmarried.

Survivors Benefits for Grandchildren of SSDI Recipients

As a grandchild (or stepgrandchild), you can be eligible to receive survivors benefits on the record of a deceased grandparent if the following requirements are met:

• Your biological parents are deceased or disabled and aren't making regular contributions to support you.
• You began living with your grandparent before the age of 18 years old and your grandparent provided at least half of your support for at least 12 months before dying.
• For babies under 12 months old, the infant has lived with the grandparent for substantially all of the infant's life, and the grandparent provided at least half of the infant's support.

Qualified grandchildren will receive 75% of their grandparent's SSDI benefit, the same as children. The payments will continue until the grandchild's 18^th birthday (payments will actually stop the month before the grandchild turns 18 years old).

If the grandparent(s) adopted the grandchild, the above requirements for grandchildren need not be met. The adopted grandchild will instead need to meet the requirements laid out in the "Survivors Benefits for Children of SSDI Recipients" section, above.

Survivors Benefits for Elderly Parents of Deceased SSDI Recipients

If your disabled child was providing substantial support to you as an elderly parent, you can receive a percentage of their Social Security benefits if they die, only if they were fully insured for Social Security at the time of death. In addition, all of the following must be true.

• Your disabled child was providing at least half of your support at the time of their death.
• You're at least 62 years old.
• You haven't married since your disabled child's death.
• You aren't entitled to your own Social Security benefits that would be higher than the benefit you would receive based on your deceased child's earnings record.

If you're the only surviving parent, you'll receive 82.5% of your deceased child's Social Security benefits. If there are two surviving parents, each parent will receive 75% of the deceased child's benefit.

Note that you have only two years after the death of your disabled child to provide evidence to show that your child provided at least one-half of your financial support.

Calculating Your Survivor Benefit

Here's a helpful chart that summarizes the survivors benefit percentages along with the eligibility requirements for each type of relative and how long the survivors benefit will last.

Maximum Family Amount for Survivors Benefits

Social Security puts a limit on how much a family can receive based on their deceased relative's Social Security benefits. Generally, a family can't receive more than 150-180% of the total amount of the deceased's Social Security benefit. If the total awarded benefits would be higher than that percentage, each family member's percentage would be reduced proportionally until the total awarded amount meets the percentage limit.

Note that benefits paid to surviving divorced spouses don't count toward the maximum family benefit.

Benefits for Surviving Divorced Spouses

While ex-husbands and ex-wives can collect a benefit based on their deceased ex-spouses' earnings record, there's a different set of eligibility and payment rules. For more information, see our article on disability benefits for surviving divorced spouses.

One-Time Lump-Sum Death Benefit

Social Security will pay a one-time lump-sum death payment of $255 to a surviving spouse who was living with the SSDI recipient at the time of death. Spouses who weren't living with the SSDI recipient can still receive the $255 if they were receiving Social Security benefits based on the deceased's record or if they're eligible for survivors benefits.

If the SSDI recipient didn't have a surviving spouse, Social Security will pay the $255 lump-sum death benefits to a child or children who are eligible for benefits based on the deceased parent's record.

Here's the information you'll need to apply for the lump-sum death benefit.

How to Apply for SSDI Survivor Benefits

To apply for Social Security survivors benefits based on a family member's earnings record, you'll need to visit your local SSA office or call the Social Security Administration (SSA) at 800-772-1213. An online application isn't available for survivors benefits.

Apply as soon as you reasonably can after your disabled relative's death to avoid losing benefits; retroactive payments are only available for some relatives (like surviving spouses and some disabled individuals).

Be prepared to provide documents such as your Social Security number, a death certificate, your marriage certificate (for spouses), and your birth certificate (for children).

If you were already receiving spousal retirement or disability benefits, Social Security will convert them to survivors benefits once the agency learns of your relative's death.