Social Security Survivors

Social Security is not just a guaranteed income for retired workers; it's also a form of insurance for families when those workers die. Today, Social Security pays monthly survivor benefits to nearly 3.9 million widows and widowers (including divorced former spouses) and about 2 million children of deceased wage earners.
In the , you’ll find practical information about how Social Security works when a worker dies, including: Steps to take to report a death and begin collecting survivor benefits How Social Security determines eligibility and calculates payments How age and marital status affect what you collect

Basics

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Benefits

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Children & Family

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Spouses & Ex-Spouses

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