Jan 31, 2025
The average American is likely to have a few knowledge gaps when it comes to their Social Security benefits. Walking through specific scenarios can help answer how Social Security would be applied in unique cases.
Let’s say Anna was married for 15 years and never remarried after her divorce. Now that she’s retired, she’s collecting her Social Security retirement benefit based on her own earnings record. Along with her personal savings, it’s enough to get by.
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But with the rising cost of living, she’s wondering if she has any other options.
Her ex-husband isn’t in the best of health, and Anna wants to know if she would be eligible for his higher survivor benefits if he passes away before she does — even though he’s now remarried. While she has an amicable relationship with her ex, she doesn’t feel comfortable approaching him (or his new wife) about the topic, either.
Her situation isn’t uncommon, as women tend to outlive men by an average of about five years. Women, on average, also make less money than men (16% less, according to the U.S. Department of Labor) and can have shorter work histories if they’ve taken time off for maternity leave and child care.
As a result, men tend to have higher retirement benefits than women, with an average monthly benefit of $1,853.68 for men at age 67 versus $1,478.02 for women at the same age, according to an analysis of Social Security Administration (SSA) data.
Fortunately for Anna, she may be able to receive higher benefits based on her ex’s Social Security record, as long as she meets a few key criteria.
How survivor benefits work
Survivor benefits are paid monthly to eligible family members of a deceased beneficiary. So, whether you’re a spouse or ex-spouse, you can be eligible, so long as you meet the criteria outlined by the SSA.
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Anna’s benefit amount would be calculated using the deceased worker’s basic benefit amount, based on their earnings record (so long as that person paid into the system through Social Security taxes). If she’s 65 or older, she may also receive Medicare based on her ex’s work history.
Since they were married for more than 10 years and Anna is currently unmarried (and would only potentially remarry after 60), she may be eligible for survivor benefits.
Anna is also at least 62, as she’s collecting her retirement benefits already, so she meets the spousal 60 plus age requirement for survivor benefits (or 50 if you live with a disability), but if she was caring for the deceased’s child, she may be eligible regardless of these other criteria.
Anna would have to choose between her own retirement benefit or her survivor benefit, though (after her ex-husband has passed away, of course). She can’t receive two benefits at the same time — but this can work in her favor.
The SSA says she could choose to start with her survivor benefit and then switch to her retired worker benefit at age 70 when she’d be able to receive the highest amount.
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When to claim survivor benefits
If your ex-spouse passes away and you claim your survivor benefit before full retirement age (FRA), you’ll receive a reduced benefit. For spouses and ex-spouses, payments start at 71.5% of the deceased’s benefit.
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According to the SSA, the amount of your survivor benefit will increase by age, and you can be eligible for the following percentages of your ex-spouse’s benefit:
- Age 61: over 75%
- Age 63: over 80%
- Age 65: over 90%
- FRA: up to 100%
If you’re still employed, you may be subject to an earnings limit (depending on your age). That means your survivor benefit would be reduced — though temporarily — if you earn above that limit in a year.
As mentioned, you can file for survivor benefits at age 60 and then switch to your own retirement benefit later, between ages 62 and 70. But you could also claim your retirement benefit first and file for survivor benefits at FRA — if that benefit would be higher.
Anna may choose to contact the SSA to discuss her future options — and she can rest easy knowing her ex-husband won’t be notified of it.
So, if her ex-husband passes away, Anna could be eligible for survivor benefits, but she’ll only want to collect them if the payments are higher than her current retirement benefit. Fortunately, if she does qualify, her benefit won’t impact the benefit amount paid out to other survivors, such as a current surviving spouse.
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Vawn Himmelsbach is a veteran journalist who has been covering tech, business, finance and travel for the past three decades. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post, Metro News, Canadian Geographic, Zoomer, CAA Magazine, Travelweek, Explore Magazine, Flare and Consumer Reports, to name a few.
