Social Safety is a vital supply of revenue for widows. Examine the checklist under to find out if you happen to could also be certified for widow ’s advantages.
- A widow who’s already receiving Social Safety advantages can obtain both their very own profit or their partner’s, whichever quantity is larger, however not each.
- A widow who has not began receiving Social Safety advantages will probably be eligible for a survivor profit when she reaches full retirement age, or a decreased profit as early as age 60 (age 50 if disabled).[2]
- A divorced widow is eligible for a survivor profit at these identical ages so long as she was married to the deceased for at the very least 10 years and is now single.
- A widow who remarries earlier than the age of 60 can not obtain survivor’s advantages until the later marriage ends by loss of life, divorce, or annulment.
- A widow who remarries after age 60 (50 if disabled), can nonetheless accumulate advantages on their former partner’s document. Once they attain age 62 or older, they might apply for and obtain retirement advantages primarily based on the document of their new partner if these advantages are larger than these of the previous partner.
- A widow with dependent youngsters could also be eligible for advantages for every youngster of the deceased who’s below age 16.
- A disabled widow might qualify for disabled widow’s advantages as early as age 50 in the event that they grew to become disabled earlier than or inside seven years of the loss of life of the partner.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Widows can not apply on-line for survivor’s advantages. You’ll be able to name SSA at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). As a result of COVID-19 pandemic, visits to the SSA workplaces are by appointment just for sure providers. Please go to SSA’s Coronavirus web page at Coronavirus Illness (COVID-19) | SSA to see if you happen to could also be eligible for an in-person appointment.
[1] For extra info on navigating the monetary challenges of widowhood see WISER’s step-by-step information, Going it Alone – A Information for Widows.
[2] For extra info on how retirement age impacts your profit quantity, go to the Social Safety web site at: https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/1943.html
