If you’re still a bit young for social security, but think that you’ll eventually qualify for it, you may be wondering what happens to your Social Security benefits when you die. It’s true that you can apply for a lump-sum death benefit, and you can also apply for survivors benefits for your minor children.
Remarrying after age 60 won’t affect eligibility for survivors benefits
If you remarry after age 60, you will not lose your ability to claim survivors benefits from your ex-spouse. The amount of your benefit will depend on your own age, your ex-spouse’s age, and the amount of money you earn. You can also collect survivor benefits from an ex-spouse who has died.
There are other benefits you can receive if you are divorced or have a child. These include child disability, child survivor, and SSI. However, you must meet certain requirements to qualify.
Survivors benefits are only available if your marriage has ended in divorce or death. Divorced ex-spouses are able to collect benefits as early as age 50 if their marriage was at least 10 years long. For a child, you must have a legal adopted parent to claim the children’s benefit.
SSI payment changes from an individual rate to a couples rate based on your income and the resources of your new spouse. You can claim these benefits if you are over age 50 and if you are disabled. SSI benefits are paid at the highest rate for the first couple years of marriage, and it is usually reduced by your own earnings.
You can also claim spousal retirement benefits. However, if you remarry before you reach the age of 60, you will lose your eligibility. It is your choice whether you want to remarry or to stop collecting spousal benefits.
Survivor benefits for minor children
Survivor benefits for minor children are a key source of income maintenance for many low-income families. The benefits are intended to assist survivors with medical care, clothing, and housing costs.
There are three main types of child benefits. These include dependent, survivor, and SSI. The amount of benefit each type provides is based on the age of the child and the deceased worker’s earnings record.
A disabled worker’s surviving spouse can also receive survivor benefits for a child. This is a specialized program that allows a surviving spouse to continue caring for the child of a disabled worker.
The average amount of the child survivor benefit is 75 percent of the benefit provided by the deceased worker. The benefit is subject to the family maximum. If the total amount of the primary beneficiary’s benefits is higher than the family maximum, then the amount will be reduced.
The SSA uses administrative records and links them with the Census Bureau’s SIPP (Summary of Income and Program Participation) data to provide useful aggregate information. Using household surveys, we found that there was some heterogeneity in the types of benefits received by different groups of child beneficiaries. Specifically, the rate of receipt of the Social Security benefit for a child was highest in families with 1 or 2 children, while the rate of receipt of the child benefit was lowest in families with 3 or more child beneficiaries.
Applying for a lump-sum death benefit
A lump-sum death benefit is an amount of money that is paid to a person or a group of people upon the death of an individual. It is a one-time payment that pays a monetary sum to a beneficiary, such as a child or an unmarried minor.
There are many types of lump-sum death benefits. The amount of the payment will depend on the individual’s age, the length of time that the person worked, and the amount of money that was paid to the person.
In the early years of the Social Security system, survivor benefits were not provided. However, they were added as part of the federal workers’ compensation program. Survivor benefits are ongoing payments to the surviving spouse and children of the deceased.
Lump-sum death benefits are not to be confused with survivor benefits. Unlike survivor benefits, which are only ongoing, a lump-sum benefit is a single one-time payment that can be used for funeral expenses or for other purposes.
Lump-sum death benefits are available to parents and grandparents. Generally, the surviving child must have worked long enough to qualify for benefits.
Depending on the plan and the amount of the contributions, the accumulated benefits may be payable to a number of beneficiaries. For example, the first $255 of a lump-sum death benefit is paid to the surviving spouse.