6. Apply for benefits
The Social Security notification will trigger a one-time $255 death benefit, if your spouse was already collecting benefits. It will also terminate the deceased’s monthly benefits, beginning with the month of death.
For example, if he or she had already received a check for February and then passes away in February, those benefits must be returned. If you had already begun collecting and your benefit was lower, it will be maximized to match your spouse’s benefit.
If you have minor children, you should make an appointment at a local Social Security office immediately in order to apply for survivor benefits for the kids because, unfortunately, the benefit clock begins at the date of application, not the date of death.
Once you arrive at a local Social Security office, you should also ask if you can qualify for benefits as the caretaker of your spouse’s children who should be under age 16. Otherwise, you can apply for survivor benefits if you are at least 60, or 50 if you are disabled.
You have the option—which is no longer available to married couples—to receive a survivor benefit first, letting your own work-record retirement benefit grow and earn delayed retirement credits until age 70, then switch to the higher benefit. Or, if your survivor benefit will be larger, you can collect your work-record benefit at age 62, switching to the survivor benefit at full retirement age.
Opt for whatever strategy suits you but remember to double check the work of the Social Security office because the department’s own Office of the Inspector General has issued scathing reports in recent years about survivors being misinformed about their options or having their benefits calculated incorrectly.
