This article is part of the Retirement Financial Life Equation (RFLE) series. It was initially published on April 9, 2024, and updated in 2025.
Many people focus solely on their own retirement benefits when considering Social Security. However, it’s crucial to understand the significant role Social Security spousal and survivor benefits can play in retirement planning.
We don’t usually like to think about our mortality and how our passing will affect those we leave behind financially. Nonetheless, it’s wise stewardship—and I would suggest, it’s also loving.
As Christians, our hope of heaven and eternal fellowship with the Trinity and all the redeemed saints helps us deal with this reality (1 Peter 1:3-5). But our loved ones will have to manage life, including financial matters, without our help when we’re gone. It’s a sobering thought, and it should be.
When the Bible says we’re supposed to “provide for [our] relatives, and especially for members of [our] household” (1 Tim. 5:8), it includes those we leave behind after we have “shuffled off this mortal coil and joined the choir invisible.”
(I like that phrase. It suggests the constraints of this earthly existence and the thrill of joining the heavenly choir, which does seem to be a thing—see Revelation 5:11-12.)
This article examines the details of survivors’ benefits beyond what I covered in “Loving Your Widow(er).” I’ll explain who’s eligible, how benefits are calculated, and why they’re a critical component of sound stewardship and retirement-income planning for couples.
What are survivor benefits?
Survivor benefits are a type of Social Security benefit available to eligible individuals following the death of a spouse or ex-spouse. Like retirement and spousal benefits, survivor benefits are based on the deceased individual’s earnings history.
You can receive survivor benefits as early as age 60—two years earlier than regular spousal benefits (62)—and in special cases, even earlier.
Key eligibility requirements:
- You must have been married for at least nine months (with exceptions for accidental death or death in military service)
- The deceased must have earned sufficient “credits” to qualify for benefits
As of 2025, over 3.8 million widows and widowers are receiving survivor benefits.
Significant 2025 change: Government pension offset eliminated
One of the most significant changes to Social Security in decades took effect in 2024 and is now fully implemented in 2025. The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law on January 5, 2025, eliminated both the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).
What this means for survivor benefits:
Previously, if you received a pension from work not covered by Social Security (common for teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees), the GPO could reduce your survivor benefits by two-thirds of your pension amount. This often eliminated survivor benefits entirely.
Starting January 2024, the GPO no longer applies. If you were affected:
- You should have received retroactive payments back to January 2024
- Your monthly benefit increased starting in early 2025
- Over 3.1 million people received adjustments and lump-sum payments totaling $17 billion
If you believe you should have been affected by this change but haven’t seen an increase, contact Social Security immediately.
How are survivor benefits calculated?
The amount of a survivor benefit depends on several factors:
- Whether the deceased spouse had already filed for their benefits
- When they started receiving their benefits
- The survivor’s filing age
- The amount of the deceased’s benefits if they were receiving them
Full Retirement Age (FRA) for survivor benefits:
- FRA varies by birth year, currently between ages 66 and 67
- This is the age at which you can receive 100% of the survivor benefit
Survivor Benefit Scenarios
Scenario #1 — Deceased Died Before Receiving Benefits
If a spouse dies before filing for benefits, whether before or after their Full Retirement Age, the survivor will receive 100% of the deceased spouse’s Full Retirement Age benefit (adjusted for the survivor’s claiming age).
If the survivor claims before their FRA, benefits will be reduced to between 71.5% and 99% of the deceased’s benefit. The percentage increases the closer you are to FRA when you claim.
Example percentages based on claiming age:
- Age 60: 71.5% of full benefit
- Age 61: Over 75%
- Age 63: Over 80%
- Age 65: Over 90%
- At FRA (66-67): 100%
Scenario #2 — Deceased Filed On or After FRA
This is my situation. I filed at my FRA (age 66 and 2 months), and my wife started receiving her spousal benefits at the same time. If I should predecease her, her survivor benefit would be 100% of the benefit I’m receiving at the time of my death (which has grown due to annual Cost-of-Living Adjustments).
Current example:
- My current benefit: $30,000/year
- My wife’s spousal benefit: $15,000/year (50% of my FRA benefit)
- Our total household benefit: $45,000/year
If I predecease her:
- Her survivor benefit would be: $30,000/year (my full benefit at death)
- Her spousal benefit would end
- Her income effectively doubles from the spousal benefit
If she predeceases me:
- My benefit remains $30,000/year (unchanged)
- No increase because I already receive the higher benefit
Scenario #3 — Deceased Filed Before FRA
If the deceased had already filed for benefits before their FRA, the calculation becomes more complex. The survivor’s benefit is limited to the greater of:
- The deceased’s actual (reduced) benefit, OR
- 82.5% of the deceased’s FRA benefit
This limitation is known as the “RIB-LIM” (Retirement Insurance Benefit Limitation), also referred to as the “widow’s limit.”
Example: If I had claimed early at age 62, receiving $24,000/year instead of $30,000:
- My wife’s spousal benefit would be $12,000/year (50% of my reduced benefit)
- Her survivor benefit would be my actual benefit of $24,000/year
- Much less than the $30,000 she’d receive if I’d waited until FRA
This is why delaying benefits matters so much for married couples—especially the higher earner.
The critical lesson for married couples
For the higher-earning spouse: Delaying benefits to age 70 maximizes both your benefit AND your spouse’s survivor benefit.
If I had delayed until age 70:
- My benefit would be $39,600/year (132% of the FRA benefit)
- My wife’s spousal benefit would still be $15,000 (based on my FRA, not my delayed benefit)
- But her survivor benefit would be $39,600—the full delayed amount
The key insight: Your claiming decision affects your spouse’s financial security for potentially decades after your death. This is an act of stewardship and love.
Who else is eligible for survivor benefits?
Beyond spouses, several others may qualify:
Divorced Spouses:
- Must have been married at least 10 years
- Must be age 60 or older (50 if disabled)
- Cannot be remarried (before age 60)
- Ex-spouse’s benefits don’t affect what the current widow/widower receives
Children:
- Unmarried children under 18 (or 19 if full-time high school students)
- Disabled adult children (if disability began before age 22)
- Children generally receive 75% of the deceased parent’s benefit
Parents:
- Must be age 62 or older
- Must have been dependent on the deceased for at least half of their support
Surviving Spouse Caring for Children:
- Can receive benefits at any age if caring for the deceased’s child who is under 16 or disabled
- Receives 75% of the deceased’s benefit
Remarriage rules
Remarriage affects survivor benefit eligibility:
If you remarry before age 60:
- You lose survivor benefits from your deceased spouse
- Exception: You regain eligibility if the new marriage ends
If you remarry at age 60 or later:
- You retain survivor benefits from your deceased spouse
- No penalty
Special divorced spouse rule:
- If you were divorced, remarried before 60, and that marriage ended, you can claim survivor benefits on your deceased ex-spouse’s record
Strategic Claiming for Survivors
One of the most valuable features of survivor benefits is that you can switch between survivor benefits and your own retirement benefits.
Common strategies:
Strategy 1: Start with survivor benefits, switch to your own at 70
- Claim survivor benefits as early as age 60
- Let your own retirement benefit grow until age 70 (earning 8% per year)
- Switch to your own benefit at 70 if it’s higher
Strategy 2: Claim your own benefit early, switch to survivor benefits later
- If your own benefit is smaller, claim it at 62
- Switch to the larger survivor benefit when eligible
The flexibility is powerful: You’re not locked into one decision. Social Security will always pay you the higher of the two benefits, and you can optimize by claiming one early while letting the other grow.
Understanding the family maximum
There’s a limit on total benefits paid to a family based on one person’s work record, known as the “family maximum.”
Generally:
- The family maximum is 150-180% of the deceased’s FRA benefit
- If multiple family members are eligible (spouse + children), benefits may be proportionally reduced to stay under this limit
- The surviving spouse’s benefit is not reduced—only dependent children’s benefits
2025 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)
Survivor benefits increased by 2.5% in 2025, helping protect families from inflation. The 2026 COLA will be 2.8%, announced in October 2025 and effective January 2026.
COLAs apply automatically—no application required. Benefits are paid the month after they’re earned (January benefits arrive in February).
Earnings limits for working survivors
If you’re receiving survivor benefits and working before reaching FRA:
2025 limits:
- Under the FRA all year: Benefits reduced $1 for every $2 earned above $23,400
- Year you reach FRA: Benefits reduced $1 for every $3 earned above $62,160 (only counting earnings before the month you reach FRA)
- After reaching FRA: No earnings limit
Important: Money withheld due to earnings isn’t lost—your benefit will be recalculated at FRA to account for months when benefits were withheld.
Application process
How to apply:
- Call Social Security: 1-800-772-1213
- Visit your local Social Security office
- Online (limited circumstances)
Documents you’ll need:
- Death certificate
- Your Social Security number and the deceased’s
- Your birth certificate
- Marriage certificate (or divorce decree if applicable)
- Dependent children’s Social Security numbers and birth certificates
- Deceased’s W-2 forms or self-employment tax return for most recent year
Don’t delay applying because you’re missing documents—Social Security can help you obtain what you need.
The importance of your claiming strategy
From a long-term planning standpoint, survivor benefits may be more critical than spousal benefits. When a spouse dies relatively early, the surviving spouse may receive many more survivor checks than regular retirement or spousal benefits.
Married couples should always consider:
- The life expectancy of both spouses
- The financial impact on the lower-earning spouse
- The benefit of delaying the higher earner’s claiming to age 70
- Whether to use the strategies mentioned above
Rather than maximizing current income in your 60s, consider maximizing a surviving spouse’s income in their 80s. This is wise, loving stewardship.
Loving your survivor
If you have a spouse, one of you will eventually be a survivor. Any decision the high-income earner makes will have significant consequences for decades to come.
The SSA rules governing survivor benefits are nuanced and complex. More detailed information is available on the Social Security Administration’s survivors’ planning website at ssa.gov/benefits/survivors.
Regardless, ensure both you and your spouse have a basic understanding of these provisions. You don’t necessarily know who will survive. That’s in God’s hands (Job 14:5).