How Can I Get My Wife's Social Security Number

Losing a spouse is one of the most stressful events you tin go through. In improver to the emotional turmoil and grief, you'll also take to figure out finances. When a spouse dies, the surviving spouse is eligible to receive survivor benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). In this article, nosotros'll go over the rules and exceptions for receiving these benefits and enable you to build a plan for your survivors benefits.

Social Security work credits are based on your total yearly wages or self-employment income. Y'all get one credit quarterly for every $1,470 dollars you earn in 2021, and you tin can earn upwards to iv credits. Nearly people make more $5,880 a year, but four credits is the maximum applied to Social Security benefits. You accumulate benefits your entire working life until you reach full retirement age (between age 66 and 67, depending on when you were born), or FRA. You can start collecting benefits earlier your total retirement historic period, just they'll exist reduced.

Social Security survivors benefits are based on a percentage of your spouses' benefits. If the deceased started collecting reduced benefits before reaching full retirement historic period, your survivors benefits would exist reduced as well. If the deceased died before he/she was eligible to collect, the benefit is based on what they would have received when they retired.

They do. They pay a one-time lump sum payment of $255. The spouse must have lived with the deceased. If there was no surviving spouse, the payment can be made to a surviving child. Y'all must claim this benefit within 2 years of the decease.

Obviously, this corporeality is not going to have you very far, and then let'southward look more closely at the monthly benefits.

What happens if the deceased received monthly benefits?

If the deceased was already receiving Social Security benefits, the surviving spouse is eligible to collect 100% of the benefits as long as they are at to the lowest degree sixty and they were married to the deceased for at to the lowest degree ix months. There are exceptions:

If the deceased died in an blow or died in the line of U.Southward. Military duty, there'south no length of union requirement.
Yous can apply for your deceased spouse's benefits every bit early as age 50 if you are disabled and the disability occurred within seven years of the spouse'south decease.
If there are disabled children from the matrimony, or if there are children under the historic period of 16, you can apply at any age.

You need to report the death equally presently as possible, although sometimes the funeral home will do that for y'all. Just give them the deceased's Social Security number.

Who receives benefits?

The following is a list of who is eligible to receive Social Security benefits after someone has died:

A widow or widower over 60.
A widow or widower over 50 and disabled.
Surviving divorced spouses, assuming the marriage lasted at least x years.
Widow or widower who is caring for a deceased child who is either under sixteen or disabled.
An unmarried child of the deceased who is either younger than xviii (19 if they're in school full-time), or older than 18 with a disability that began before age 22.

Nether some circumstances, others may exist eligible to receive the deceased's Social Security benefits:

Stepchildren, grandchildren, or adopted children.
Parents who were dependent on the deceased child for support.

Proceed in heed that if you lot already receive Social Security benefits and your spouse dies, y'all don't receive two sets of benefits. Social Security volition pay you either your retirement benefits or survivor benefits, whichever amount is higher.

Also, if your spouse died young enough that you remarried earlier you turned threescore, you won't exist able to collect a widow/widowers benefit. If y'all look until after y'all plough sixty, y'all can get the benefits. This rule also applies if you were married for at least ten years and go divorced, fifty-fifty if your spouse remarries.

Survivors Benefit amount

SSA spousal benefits are based on the earnings of the deceased. The longer they worked and the more money they earned over their lifetime, the higher the benefits will be. Survivors benefits are based on a percentage of the deceased person's Social Security benefit. The SSA lists examples of benefits survivors might receive:

Widow or widowers, total retirement age (FRA) or older, get 100% of the benefit amount.
Widow or widower, age 60, spouse was FRA when they died, 71.5 to 99 percentage of the deceased's benefits.
Disabled widow/widower, ages 50-59, 71.5 percent.
Widow/widower caring for a child under 16, 75 pct.
Children under 18 or disabled children, 75 pct.
Dependent parents of the deceased. One parent = 82.5 pct, two parents = 75 percent to each parent.

There are limits to how much a family can collect, which is typically somewhere between 150 and 180 per centum of the bones benefit rate.

If y'all demand to apply for survivors benefits, yous'll demand the post-obit:

Proof of death
Your Social Security number and the deceased's Social Security number
Your nascency document
Wedlock certificate if you're applying as a widow/widower
Divorce papers, if y'all're applying as a divorced widow/widower
Dependent children'southward social security numbers
Deceased person's W-ii's or tax returns
Your banking concern account number and routing number (for direct deposit)

You tin't utilize for SSA spousal benefits online. You lot take to either make an date at a local Social Security office or call.

Next Steps

The federal government has dozens of exceptions and exclusions to spousal Social Security rules, which can be very confusing. Talk to a Certified Financial Planner® for insights into when you authorize for spousal benefits and to assistance you lot effigy out a Social Security spousal benefits strategy.

FAQs

If you are the widow/widower of a person who worked long enough under Social Security, you can receive full benefits at total retirement historic period for survivors or reduced benefits as early on every bit historic period 60. If you are also eligible for retirement benefits on your own earnings history (but haven't applied still), you accept an additional option. You can apply for retirement or survivors benefits now and switch to the other (higher) do good after.

No, a survivors benefit corporeality is based on the earnings of the deceased person. The more they paid into Social Security, the higher your benefits would exist.The monthly corporeality a surviving spouse would get is a percentage of the deceased's basic Social Security benefit. It depends on your age and the type of benefit you lot are eligible to receive.

A widow/widower that is full retirement age or older — volition receive 100 percent of the deceased worker's do good corporeality. A widow/widower betwixt age 60 and full retirement age may receive 71½ to 99 per centum of the deceased worker'due south bones corporeality. A disabled widow/widower aged fifty through 59 may receive 71½ per centum while a widow/widower, any historic period, caring for a child under age 16 may receive 75 percent.

How long can a widow receive survivor benefits?

Survivor benefits for a widow/widower are provided for the surviving spouse's lifetime. If the widow/widower receives additional benefits considering he/she has a minor dependent benefits will typically finish when that child reaches age 18.