Just south of ‘Sawmill Creek…..
Hi Attorney Kevin Pritchett here

“Social Security Survivor Benefits:
        How Much Do I Get?”

As I’ve shared with you previously Social Security is a convoluted and complicated benefit maze.  You CANnavigate it but you’ll need to know the lay of the land.   

   Today I’ll go over SURVIVOR BENEFITS.

Survivor Eligibility
     You are eligible to receive Social Security benefits as a survivor spouse if the following conditions are me:

==your spouse worked enough to collect Social
     Security benefits     Eligibility=10 work credits. 
     Every $1360 of wages or self employment income= 1
work credit
  workers can earn up to 4 work credits/year

==check your spouse’s Social Security statement    to
determine eligibility and work credits earned

==you must apply in person for survivor benefits   and
must bring proof of your spouse’s death

Survivor Benefits And Other Social Security Benefits
    You can be eligible for survivor benefits and also receive your own Social Security benefits.    

    Survivors benefits are completely different
from spousal benefits.

     Spousal benefits can be claimed
 if one spouse made significantly less
than the other. They are designed to equal
as much as 50% of the higher-earning
spouse’s Social Security benefit, while
survivors benefits can equal up to 100%
of your spouse’s Social Security benefit.

     If you are already receiving spousal benefits,
the SSA will automatically convert you to
survivors benefits once they receive the death record.

When Survivor Benefits Start
    Survivor benefits begin based on
your work record and your age
    The payout rules are SO complicated and convoluted I’ll quote from a recent article that lays it all out clearly:

_________________________________

” If you are a widow(er), you can receive
survivors  benefits if you are 60 or older,
although the amount  is reduced if you take
them before your full retirement  age (FRA).

   You can also receive them if you are 50 or
older and disabled. If you are caring for a
child who is under the age of 16 or who is
disabled, you can receive survivors benefits
at any age.

 

   FRA is 66 for people born between 1943
and 1954. It rises a bit for birth years after that,
and hits 67 for people born after 1960.

   If you’re a widow(er) and take survivors benefits
at your FRA, you will receive 100% of your
spouse’s benefits.

    If you take benefits between
the age of 60 and your FRA, you will receive
between 71.5% and 99% of your spouse’s
benefits. (The percentage climbs for every
year you get closer to your FRA.)

   If you are a widow(er) and disabled and take
survivors benefits between the ages of 50
and 59, you will receive 71.5% of your
spouse’s benefits.

    If you are a widow(er)
and raising a child under the age of 16 or
a disabled child, you will receive 75% of
your spouse’s Social Security benefits.

    If you are an ex-spouse, you are eligible for
survivors benefits as long as you were
married to the deceased person for at
least 10 years. The percentages and
relationship to FRA are the same as for
a spouse.

  That changes, though, if you’re a
divorced ex-spouse who is raising a
child of the deceased who is under 16
or disabled. You can receive survivors
benefits even if the marriage was less than
10 years in duration.

   Note that there is an exception to the benefits
percentages if you are a widow(er) and raising
multiple children under the age of 16 or disabled.
Benefits are usually capped, somewhere
between 150% and 180% of the deceased
person’s benefit.

    If total survivors benefits paid
to family members would exceed that amount,
the benefits are proportionately reduced.

    Survivors benefits will remain at the same
percentage of the deceased spouse’s benefits
you are initially eligible for throughout the time
that you receive them. In other words, if you are
a widow(er) and your survivors benefits are 75%
of your spouse’s benefit because you took them
before your FRA, they remain at 75% throughout
the time you receive them.

    Surviving spouses are entitled to a one-time
payment of $255 if they live with the deceased
person at the time of death.

   Finally, for all survivors benefits, note that
remarriage will make you ineligible for widow(er)
benefits if it occurs before the age of 60.

If you remarry at 60 or later, though, you remain
eligible. 

Combining Survivors Benefits and Social Security Benefits On Your Own Record

     If you are entitled to both survivors benefits and
Social Security benefits on your own record, you
can take them at the same time or manage the
amounts you’ll receive strategically.

     Let’s say you are 62 and your spouse recently
passed away. You’d like to retire now. You are due to
receive $2,000 if you wait until FRA on your survivors
benefit, and $1,500 on your own work record if you
retire at FRA.

     You can elect to take your survivors benefit now
and wait to receive your own Social Security
benefits until your FRA. Your survivors benefits
will be reduced if you take them at 62, but will
still provide income until you claim your own benefits.”

Motley Fool March 20, 2019

 

Reach Out To Me If You Have Questions.  
If you have comments or questions about any of this…send me an email :
ironkop@gmailcom
or if reading on my blog or Facebook page leave your questions or comments below.

Remember…..
“Things Don’t Get Better With Neglect…..”

Kevin Pritchett, Esq
Law Office of Kevin Pritchett, Inc.
ironkop@gmail.com
www.KevinPLaw.com
312-505-1957