When your spouse dies, do you get their Social Security benefits?

The death of a spouse can change everything. You may be grieving a profound loss while facing disorienting questions you never expected to have to answer alone, many of them financial. One may be whether you qualify for your spouse’s Social Security benefits and if you’re eligible to receive them in addition to your own.

The short answer is that you may be eligible for both benefits, but you can’t receive both at the same time. Instead, Social Security pays the higher of the two. When you claim, and which benefit you claim first, can shape your financial outlook for years to come.

We’ll help you understand how Social Security survivor benefits work, when you may be eligible and what to consider before you claim. If you are facing these decisions while grieving, Thrivent’s grief care resources may offer additional support.

When your spouse dies, their monthly Social Security benefits stop paying out by default. Those benefits do not automatically transfer to their surviving spouse or to anyone else.

However, you still may be able to apply for survivor benefits based on your spouse’s earnings record. Your eligibility and payment amount will depend on several factors that include your age, your own work record and when you claim the benefits.

To determine these things, it’s a good idea to contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) as soon as you’re able to discuss your options and apply for any benefits you may be eligible to receive. You may have a lot to manage after your spouse’s death but reaching out sooner rather than later can help you avoid delays in receiving benefits.

As you begin looking into what support may be available, you may hear about both survivor benefits and Social Security’s one-time death payment. These are separate benefits, and understanding the difference can help you know what to ask when you contact the SSA.

• Survivor benefits are ongoing monthly payments based on your spouse’s earnings record. If you qualify, you may be able to claim survivor benefits before you claim your own retirement benefit if it is the higher of the two.
• The one-time death payment is different from survivor benefits. It’s a $255 lump sum that may be available to an eligible surviving spouse or child in addition to a monthly survivor benefit. You may need to apply for this benefit separately, even if you’re also applying for monthly survivor benefits. Be sure to ask Social Security about both when you contact them.

Social Security will not pay both your retirement benefit and a survivor benefit at the same time. This is known as the dual-entitlement rule: if you qualify for both, you’ll receive the higher benefit amount.

What does this mean in practice?

• If your spouse’s benefit is higher. You may be able to claim survivor benefits and wait to claim your own retirement benefit. Your own benefit can continue to grow up to age 70, allowing you to switch to it later if it becomes higher.
• If your retirement benefit is higher. You would receive your own benefit instead of the survivor benefit. In some circumstances, you might be able to switch to survivor benefits later.

Remember not to confuse survivor benefits with spousal benefits. Spousal benefits are paid when both spouses are alive and can be worth up to 50% of your spouse’s benefit. Survivor benefits apply only after a spouse dies and can be worth up to 100% of their benefit. The rules, amounts and timing are different.

Social Security survivor benefits are designed to offer financial support to surviving spouses, unmarried children under 18, adult children with a qualifying disability and, in some cases, dependent parents or a divorced spouse.

For current spouses, here’s a breakdown of eligibility criteria:

1. You are 60 years old or older.
2. You are 50 years old or older and have a disability that began within seven years of your spouse’s death.
3. You are any age and caring for your deceased spouse’s child, who is under age 16 or has a disability.
4. You were married to your spouse for at least nine months before they died. Note that this requirement does not apply if the death was accidental or occurred during U.S. military duty.
5. You have not remarried before age 60. Remarrying before age 60 generally ends your eligibility, although benefits may be reinstated if that marriage ends. Remarrying at age 60 or later generally does not affect your eligibility.

Contact the Social Security Administration to confirm your eligibility. A financial advisor can help you determine if you or another loved one qualifies.

As mentioned, divorced spouses may also be eligible for benefits under certain circumstances. If your marriage lasted at least 10 years and you’re currently unmarried, you may qualify for survivor benefits on your ex-spouse’s record, even if they remarried. The same age requirements described above apply.

Additionally, caring for your ex-spouse’s biological or legally adopted child who is under 16 or has a disability may qualify you regardless of how long you were married.

Other family members, including children, grandchildren and dependent parents, also may qualify. The SSA provides a complete eligibility list.

Divorced? Your Social Security options may be different than you think.

You may be able to claim benefits based on a former spouse’s work record, including survivor benefits if they have died. Learn what the 10-year marriage rule, remarriage and your own benefit amount can mean for you.

Learn about Social Security after divorce

Your survivor benefit amount depends on two factors: your spouse’s earnings history and your age when you claim.

• If your spouse already had filed and was receiving benefits, your survivor benefit is based on what they were receiving in the month of their death. If you've reached your full retirement age (FRA), you'll receive that full amount. If you claim earlier, your benefit will be a reduced percentage of it.
• If your spouse died before claiming Social Security, your benefit is calculated from their earnings record, or what they would have received at full retirement age. If your spouse had delayed claiming to build a higher benefit, that growth is reflected in your survivor amount.

Your survivor benefit ranges from 71.5% to 100% of your spouse’s benefit, depending on when you claim:

Your FRA for survivor benefits may differ from your FRA for your own retirement benefit. For most people born after 1962, both are age 67, but confirm your specific survivor FRA with the SSA or a financial advisor.

On top of Social Security survivor benefits, a one-time, lump-sum death payment of $255 may be available to an eligible surviving spouse or child. To qualify, you generally must have been living with your spouse at the time of their death or already receiving Social Security benefits on their record. A few things to know:

• Apply within two years of the date of death. After that, you’re no longer eligible.
• If there’s no eligible surviving spouse, the benefit may go to a qualifying child.
• If you lived apart when your spouse died, you still may be eligible if you already were receiving spousal benefits.

If you're under your full retirement age and still working, the SSA's earnings test may temporarily reduce your survivor benefit. The limit depends on where you are relative to FRA:

• If you won't reach FRA in 2026: The limit is $24,480. For every $2 you earn above that, $1 is withheld.
• If you will reach FRA sometime in 2026: A higher limit applies: $65,160 for earnings in the months before your birthday. For every $3 over that threshold, $1 is withheld.

Once you reach full retirement age, the earnings test no longer applies. You can earn any amount without affecting your benefit.

The good news: those withheld amounts aren’t lost. They’re credited back to your record once you reach full retirement age, resulting in a slightly higher monthly payment going forward. At that point, there’s also no earnings limit, so your benefits will be unaffected by how much you work.

If multiple family members, such as children and a surviving spouse, are all receiving benefits based on the same worker's record, total payments are capped at the family maximum benefit, typically 150%–180% of the worker's full benefit.

If that cap is exceeded, each survivor's payment is proportionally reduced to stay within the limit. The SSA provides more information on how the family maximum is calculated.

Making this call may be one more difficult task during an already painful time. But you do not need to have every answer or document ready before you reach out. The SSA can help you gather what’s needed at the time.

You cannot apply for survivor benefits online. To apply, call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., or visit your local Social Security office.

Apply as soon as you can and try not to put it off. Survivor benefits may not be paid retroactively from the date of application, so delays can mean permanently missed income.

If you're already receiving spousal benefits, the SSA may automatically change your benefit after it receives proof of death. Contact the SSA to confirm what happens in your situation.

Depending on your circumstances, Social Security may ask for additional documents. For example, a surviving divorced spouse may need a final divorce decree, and someone applying for disability-based survivor benefits may need medical information.

This is where strategy matters most, and where a financial advisor can help you make a decision that could impact your lifetime income.

Here’s the key insight: Survivor benefits don’t grow past your survivor FRA, but your own retirement benefit grows 8% per year from your FRA up to age 70. That difference creates a planning opportunity. Here are two different approaches:

If your own retirement benefit at age 70 is larger than your maximum survivor benefit, this is often the most financially advantageous path:

• Claim survivor benefits as soon as you’re eligible, as early as 60
• Allow your own retirement benefit to grow through delayed retirement credits
• Switch to your own benefit at age 70, when it’s at its maximum

Here’s an example. Say you’re 62 when your spouse dies and your survivor benefit is $1,800/month. Your own retirement benefit at age 70 would be $2,400/month. By claiming survivor benefits now and waiting until 70 to switch, you collect survivor income for eight years and then maximize your own benefit for the rest of your life.

If your spouse’s benefit will always be higher than yours, you might take your own reduced retirement benefit now and switch to the full survivor benefit at your survivor FRA.

It’s important to remember that you can only switch between these benefits once and must do so before age 70. When you apply for survivor benefits, be specific with the SSA about which benefit you’re applying for and which you are not. This distinction matters.

Every situation is different. A financial advisor can model both scenarios with your actual numbers and help you decide what timing makes sense.

Decisions around survivor benefits, especially when to claim and which benefit to claim first, can meaningfully affect your retirement income for years to come. While it’s important to contact Social Security promptly to understand what’s available to you and make sure you’re not missing out on income, it’s even more important to give yourself grace after a loss of this magnitude.

When you’re ready, a Thrivent financial advisor can help take some of the burden off your plate by walking you through your options, carefully explaining tradeoffs and helping you decide on a course of action that’s best for your financial future.

If you’re experiencing a loss, we also invite you to review Thrivent’s grief care resources.