Social Security should be notified as soon as possible when a person dies. In most cases, the funeral director will report the person's death to Social Security. You will need to furnish the funeral director with the deceased's Social Security number so he or she can make the report.
For additional information about
Social Security Benifits, consider the following: RESOURCES
Some of the deceased's family members may be able to receive Social Security benefits if the deceased person worked long enough under Social Security to qualify for benefits. You should get in touch with Social Security as soon as you can to make sure the family receives all of the benefits to which it may be entitled. Please read the following information carefully to learn what benefits may be available.
A one-time payment of $255 can be paid to the surviving spouse if he or she was living with the deceased; or, if living apart, was receiving certain Social Security benefits on the deceased's record. If there is no surviving spouse, the payment is made to a child who is eligible for benefits on the deceased's record in the month of death.
Certain family members may be eligible to receive monthly benefits, including:
A widow or widower age 60 or older (age 50 or older if disabled)
A surviving spouse at any age who is caring for the deceased's child under age 16 or disabled
An unmarried child of the deceased who is younger than age 18 (or age 18 or 19 if he or she is a full-time student in an elementary or secondary school) or age 18 or older with a disability that began before age 22
Parents, age 62 or older, who were dependent on the deceased for at least half of their support
A surviving divorced spouse, under certain circumstances
If the deceased was receiving Social Security benefits, you must return the benefit received for the month of death or any later months. For example, if the person dies in July, you must return the benefit paid in August. If benefits were paid by direct deposit, contact the bank or other financial institution. Request that any funds received for the month of death or later be returned to Social Security. If the benefits were paid by check, do not cash any checks received for the month in which the person dies or later. Return the checks to Social Security as soon as possible. However, eligible family members may be able to receive death benefits for the month in which the beneficiary died.
You can receive Social Security survivors’ benefits and work at the same time. However, depending on your age, your benefits could be reduced if you earn more than certain amounts.
Some people have to pay federal income taxes on their Social Security benefits. This usually happens only if you have other substantial income (such as wages, self-employment, interest, dividends and other taxable income that must be reported on your tax return) in addition to your benefits.
No one pays federal income tax on more than 85 percent of his or her Social Security benefits based on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules. If you:
File a federal tax return as an "individual" and your combined income is
between $25,000 and $34,000, you may have to pay income tax on 50 percent of your benefits
more than $34,000, up to 85 percent of your benefits may be taxable
File a joint return, and you and your spouse have a combined income that is
between $32,000 and $44,000, you may have to pay income tax on 50 percent of your benefits
more than $44,000, up to 85 percent of your benefits may be taxable
Are married and file a separate tax return, you probably will pay taxes on your benefits
Note: Your adjusted gross income+ Nontaxable interest+ ½ of your Social Security benefits= your "combined income".
Each January you will receive a Social Security Benefit Statement (Form SSA-1099) showing the amount of benefits you received in the previous year. You can use this Benefit Statement when you complete your federal income tax return to find out if your benefits are subject to tax.
If you do have to pay taxes on your Social Security benefits, you can make quarterly estimated tax payments to the IRS or choose to have federal taxes withheld from your benefits.
About 3.8 million children receive approximately $1.6 billion each month because one or both of their parents are disabled, retired or deceased. Those dollars help to provide the necessities of life for family members and help to make it possible for those children to complete high school. When a parent becomes disabled or dies, Social Security benefits help to stabilize the family’s financial future.
Who can get child's benefits:
Your child can get benefits if he or she is your biological child, adopted child or dependent stepchild. (In some cases, your child also could be eligible for benefits on his or her grandparents’ earnings.
To get benefits, a child must have:
A parent(s) who is disabled or retired and entitled to Social Security benefits
A parent who died after having worked long enough in a job where he or she paid Social Security taxes
The child also must be:
Unmarried
Younger than 18
18-19 years old and a full-time student (no higher than grade 12); or 18 or older and disabled. (The disability must have started before age 22.)
What you will need when you apply for child's benefits. When you apply for benefits for your child, you will need the child’s birth certificate and the parent’s and child’s Social Security numbers. Depending on the type of benefit involved, other documents may be required. For example, if you are applying for survivors benefits for the child, you will need to furnish proof of the parent’s death. If you are applying for benefits for a disabled child, you will need to furnish medical evidence to prove the disability. The Social Security representative who sees you will tell you what other documents you will need.
How much can a family get?
Within a family, a child may receive up to one-half of the parent’s full retirement or disability benefit, or 75 percent of the deceased parent’s basic Social Security benefit. However, there is a limit to the amount of money that can be paid to a family. The family maximum payment is determined as part of every Social Security benefit computation and can be from 150 to 180 percent of the parent’s full benefit amount. If the total amount payable to all family members exceeds this limit, each person’s benefit is reduced proportionately (except the parent’s) until the total equals the maximum allowable amount.
Am I entitled to widow’s or widower’s benefits if I remarry?
Generally, you cannot get widow’s or widower’s benefits if you remarry before age 60. But remarriage after age 60 (or age 50 if you are disabled) will not prevent you from getting benefit payments based on your former spouse’s work. And at age 62 or older, you may get benefits based on your new spouse’s work, if those benefits would be higher.
How does a divorced spouse qualify for benefits?
A person can receive benefits as a divorced spouse on a former spouse’s Social Security record if he or she:
was married to the former spouse for at least 10 years
is at least age 62 years old
is unmarried
is not entitled to a higher Social Security benefit on his or her own record
In addition, the former spouse must be entitled to receive his or her own retirement or disability benefit. If the former spouse is eligible for a benefit, but has not yet applied for it, the divorced spouse can still receive a benefit if he or she meets the eligibility requirements above and has been divorced from the former spouse for at least two years.
Generally, benefits cannot continue to be paid if the divorced spouse remarries someone other than the former spouse, unless the latter marriage ends (whether by death, divorce, or annulment), or the marriage is to a person entitled to certain types of Social Security auxiliary or survivor's benefits.
A person can receive benefits as a surviving divorced spouse on the Social Security record of a former spouse who died fully insured, if he or she:
is at least age 60, or age 50 and disabled
was married to the former spouse for at least 10 years
is not entitled to a higher Social Security benefit on his or her own record
If the surviving divorced spouse age 60 or over applying for benefits remarried after age 60, or after age 50 and at the time of remarriage was entitled to disability benefits, the marriage is disregarded. If a person is already entitled to benefits as an aged or disabled surviving divorced spouse and remarries, benefits continue regardless of the person's age at the time of remarriage.
The benefits paid to a divorced spouse or a surviving divorced spouse will not affect the benefit amount paid to other family members who receive benefits on the same record.
If I remarry, after being married 10 years, which spouse receives benefits?
A former spouse can receive benefits under the same circumstances as a current spouse or widow/widower if the marriage lasted 10 years or more. Benefits paid to a surviving divorced spouse will not affect the benefit rates for other beneficiaries. Please note that in general, a person applying as a widow/widower cannot receive benefits if they remarry before the age of 60 (50 if disabled) unless the latter marriage ends, whether by death, divorce, or annulment. However, remarriage after age 60 (50 if disabled) will not prevent payments on a former spouse's record.
Your remarriage would have no effect on the benefits being paid to your children. If you get benefits only because you are caring for your children, your benefits would end at the time of your remarriage unless you marry someone who is receiving Social Security benefits.
Cited Source: The above statements, regulations, policies, procedures, forms, governance, or laws, are cited from "The U.S. Social Security Administration", "The Department of Social Security", and/or their agencies, departments, affiliates, and/or subsidiaries. Any inaccuracies or misstatements should be brought to our attention immediately via the "Contact Us" link which can be found at the bottom of each page.
