Do you get your spouses social security

When a Social Security beneficiary dies, his or her surviving spouse is eligible for survivor benefits. A surviving spouse can collect 100 percent of the late spouse’s benefit if the survivor has reached full retirement age, but the amount will be lower if the deceased spouse claimed benefits before he or she reached full retirement age. (Full retirement age for survivor benefits differs from that for retirement and spousal benefits; it is currently 66 but will gradually increase to 67 over the next several years.)

If you were already receiving spousal benefits on the deceased’s work record, Social Security will in most cases switch you automatically to survivor benefits when the death is reported. Otherwise, you will need to apply for survivor benefits by calling the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213 or contacting your local Social Security office. 

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Local offices fully reopened April 7 after being closed to walk-in traffic for more than two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Social Security recommends calling in advance and scheduling an appointment to avoid long waits.

In most cases, a widow or widower qualifies for survivor benefits if he or she is at least 60 and had been married to the deceased for at least nine months at the time of death. But there are a few exceptions to those requirements:

• If the late beneficiary’s death was accidental or occurred in the line of U.S. military duty, there’s no length-of-marriage requirement.
• You can apply for survivor benefits as early as age 50 if you are disabled and the disability occurred within seven years of your spouse’s death.
• If you are caring for children from the marriage who are under 16 or disabled, you can apply at any age.

Whether you have wed again can also affect eligibility. If the remarriage took place before you turned 60 (50 if you are disabled), you cannot draw survivor benefits. You regain eligibility if that marriage ends. And there is no effect on eligibility for survivor benefits if you remarry at or past 60 (50 if disabled).

The survivor benefit is generally calculated on the benefit your late spouse was receiving from Social Security at the time of death (or was entitled to receive, based on age and earnings history, if he or she had not yet claimed benefits). The actual amount of your payment will differ according to your age and family circumstance:

• As previously noted, if you have reached full retirement age, you get 100 percent of the benefit your spouse was (or would have been) collecting.
• If you claim survivor benefits between age 60 and your full retirement age, you will receive between 71.5 percent and 99 percent of the deceased’s benefit. The percentage gets higher the older you are when you claim.
• If you claim in your 50s as a disabled spouse, the survivor benefit is 71.5 percent of your late spouse's benefit.
  
• If you apply on the basis of caring for a child who is under 16 or disabled, you can collect 75 percent of the late spouse’s benefit, regardless of your age.

Keep in mind

• You will not receive a survivor benefit in addition to your own retirement benefit; Social Security will pay the higher of the two amounts.
• If you are the divorced former spouse of a deceased Social Security recipient, you might qualify for survivor benefits on his or her work record.
• If you are below full retirement age and still working, your survivor benefit could be affected by Social Security's earnings limit.
• It does not matter whether a surviving spouse worked long enough to qualify for Social Security on his or her own. He or she can still collect benefits on the deceased spouse’s work record.

Technically, yes, you can receive both benefits on your spouse's earnings record and your own retirement payment. As a practical matter, however, you'll get the higher of the two amounts, and no more. ​​

That's because when you are eligible for two kinds of benefit, Social Security does not combine them but rather compares one to the other. If your retirement benefit is higher, you receive that amount. If the spousal benefit is larger, Social Security pays your retirement benefit first, then adds enough of your spousal benefit to make up the difference and match the higher amount. ​​

Spousal benefits are based on your mate’s full benefit — the amount they are entitled to receive from Social Security at full retirement age, or FRA (currently between 66 and 67). You can claim them as early as age 62, but like retirement benefits, they get bigger if you wait, ranging from 32.5 percent of your spouse’s full benefit amount if you file at the minimum age to 50 percent if you claim at your own FRA. ​​

That proportional calculation means a spousal benefit will only exceed your own retirement benefit if your spouse had a significantly higher income or spent a significantly longer time in the labor force. ​​

Keep in mind

• If you were born after Jan. 1, 1954, you are subject to the “deemed filing” rule: When you apply for retirement benefits, Social Security deems you to be filing for spousal benefits as well, if you are eligible for them. You'll receive the higher benefit amount. ​​
• Collecting a benefit on your spouse’s earnings record does not change what they receive from Social Security. ​​
• You cannot collect benefits on the record of a current spouse who has not yet filed for, or has suspended, his or her own retirement payment. 

Updated September 30, 2022