When can a widow collect her husband's Social Security benefits?

Under select conditions, a widow can collect her late husband’s Social Security benefits after he dies but how does a widow go about doing this to ensure she can continue to pay the rent, mortgage or other bills?

Overseen by the Social Security Administration, some 66 million people receive the benefits which are funded through payroll takes as part of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) and the Self-Employed Contributions Act (SECA).

Then when a person retires, or is disabled, a widow/widower, or a dependent, they can begin to claim an average monthly payment of $1835 as an individual, or $2972 as a couple and it’s this latter element that causes concern: what happens when one half of the couple dies?

Does the person lose over $1000 in earnings? The answer is not necessarily. If the widow has reached her Full Retirement Age (FRA), which ranges from 66 to 67 depending on her birth year, she is eligible to receive 100% of the deceased spouse’s benefit.

The amount reduces the earlier a person begins to claim Social Security. For example, only 71%-99% are paid to those who claim the money between 60 and 65 and for those who are caring for a spouse’s child, they will get around 75% as part of mother’s or father’s benefits.

To begin receiving benefits, the widow must apply through the Social Security Administration (SSA), as survivor benefits are not automatically granted. She will need to provide documentation such as the spouse’s death certificate and proof of marriage.

What is the future of Social Security?

With an ageing population and a declining birthrate, this poses quite a challenge for Social Security who are now paying people for long with less income coming from younger generations because of fewer children.

Without changes to the system, the Social Security trust fund is projected to be depleted by 2034, after which benefits would be funded by ongoing payroll taxes, covering about 77% of scheduled benefits.

Fortunately, Congress can make decisions to continue funding Social Security such as increasing the FICA and SECA percentage amounts by over one percent to generate more funding, so it’s unlikely the scheme will ever be cancelled.