(bright music) <v ->Hi, I'm Yvette with AARP.</v> I lead workshops in my community to help older adults stay connected and age successfully. I'm going to cover a difficult but important topic, Social Security benefits for surviving spouses and surviving divorced spouses. If your spouse died, you may be wondering if you can collect their benefits. This depends on a few factors, such as whether you were married or divorced at the time of their death and to how long you were married. Let's watch a short video to learn more. (bright music) <v ->If my spouse dies,</v> can I collect their Social Security benefits? <v ->You may be eligible</v> to collect survivor benefits on a deceased spouse. That could be up to 100% of what your spouse was getting from Social Security or what they were entitled to get if he or she hadn't started collecting yet. <v ->How do I know if I'm eligible?</v> <v ->In most cases, you have to be at least 60 years</v> old to claim survivor benefits. How much of your deceased spouse's benefits you get depends on your age when you claim. Just like regular Social Security benefits and you need to have been married for at least nine months unless the death was accidental or came in the course of military duty. <v ->Do you automatically</v> get these benefits when a spouse dies? <v ->If you are already getting spousal benefits,</v> then yes, Social Security will make the switch from spousal to survivor benefits. Otherwise, give the Social Security Administration a call or visit your local Social Security office to apply. You won't get a survivor benefit in addition to your own monthly Social Security payment. You'll get the higher of the two amounts. <v ->What if we were divorced</v> before my spouse died? <v ->You still might qualify for survivor benefits</v> if you are married at least 10 years. Remarriage can also affect your eligibility. To learn more, go to aarp.org/socialsecurity. <v ->Okay, so we've covered the basics,</v> but how are survivor benefits calculated? Generally, Social Security calculates the benefit for a surviving spouse or a surviving divorce spouse based on the deceased worker's full benefit amount which Social Security calls the Primary Insurance Amount. The Primary Insurance Amount is the amount you collect if you start your benefit at Full Retirement Age. Your Full Retirement Age depends on your year of birth. It used to be age 65 and is gradually increasing to age 67. Social Security also looks at whether the worker claimed benefits before they died. If the worker had not claimed benefits and died before reaching Full Retirement Age, the full survivor benefit will be the amount the worker would have collected at Full Retirement Age. If the worker died before claiming Social Security and after reaching Full Retirement Age, the full survivor benefit would be the increased amount the worker would be collecting if he or she had started collecting in the month of death. If the worker was already collecting Social Security before they died, then the survivor benefit is based on the amount the worker would still be collecting if they were alive. If the worker took early retirement with a reduced benefit, then the survivor benefit is also reduced. Now let's hear from Social Security expert Martin Booker. Martin, when can you claim survivor benefits? <v ->As we heard in the video, you can collect Social Security</v> as a surviving spouse or surviving divorce spouse as early as age 60, which is two years earlier than you can collect under the Social Security Retirement Program. Social Security can also pay a benefit at any age if you have a dependent child on the deceased record in your care and the child is under age 16 or disabled. But right now, let's just focus on collecting based on your age. Survivor benefits increase for each month, you delay claiming, claiming from age 60 all the way up to your full retirement age. Now, let's look at an example. Let's say your spouse died before collecting Social Security and had a Primary Insurance Amount of $2,000. Remember, the Primary Insurance Amount is the amount your spouse would collect at Full Retirement Age. If you claim the benefit at age 60, you receive 71.5% or $1,430 per month. Now, the benefit increases for each month that you wait and if you wait and claim your full retirement age, then you will get the full survivor benefit of $2,000 per month, so you'll get the highest survivor benefit if you claim it at your Full Retirement Age. Unlike Social Security retirement benefits, Social Security survivor benefits do not increase if you delay claiming past your Full Retirement Age. <v ->Thanks, Martin.</v> Of course, some situations are a little more complicated. For example, if you're a surviving spouse who worked in a government job and did not pay Social Security taxes on your wages, the government pension offset may reduce the Social Security you can collect on a deceased worker's record. We explore this topic in more detail in another part of this learning series. Another situation that can get a little complicated is when you're eligible for survivor benefits and a retirement benefit. You cannot collect both at the same time, but you do have options. You could collect on one record early and then wait until you're older to switch to the other record to get a higher amount. If you still have questions or need assistance, you can reach out to your local Social Security office by visiting ssa.gov/locator or calling 800-772-1212, and a representative can help you make an informed decision about your benefits. To find clear and comprehensive information about Social Security, check out this website. For additional information about other Social Security topics and resources, visit learn.aarp.org/socialsecurity. While you're there, be sure to use the Your Questions Answered tool to browse Frequently Asked Questions. If you don't see what you're looking for, you can submit your own question. Volunteer Certified Financial Planner professionals from the Foundation for Financial Planning will answer every question submitted with a personalized response within 10 days via private email. Thanks for watching. (bright music)

Social Security benefits

surviving spouses

eligibility criteria

survivor benefits

divorced spouses