Social Security Benefits for Survivors
When planning your estate, you may want to find out whether your dependents will be eligible for any income assistance to help in your absence.
If you want to find out whether your spouse, child, parent, ex-husband, ex-wife or other family members will be eligible for social security benefits after your death, visit the Social Security Administration's Survivor page.
Eligibility for Social Security Survivors Benefits
When a worker who has paid Social Security taxes dies, the deceased worker’s spouse or other relatives may be eligible to receive Social Security survivors benefits. The number of years of work required for eligibility depends on the deceased worker’s age at death.
Survivors who may be eligible for benefits include widows, widowers, unmarried children, children who were disabled prior to age 22 that remain disabled, parents age 62 or older that were dependents of the deceased worker, and in certain circumstances, adopted children, stepchildren, and grandchildren. If you are divorced, remarried or retired, this may affect your eligibility for Social Security survivor benefits. An ex-spouse of the deceased worker may be eligible for a widow's or widower's benefit.
An excellent article on Social Security benefits and how much you may be entitled to receive is available on the TIAA-CREF website.
