Can my widowed friend's 16-year-old son get Social Security survivor benefits if she wasn't collecting SS yet?

Yes! Tell your friend to apply for survivor benefits for the son immediately. Children under 18 (or up to 19 if still in high school) can receive survivor benefits based on the deceased parent's work record, even if that parent wasn't collecting Social Security yet. As long as your friend had enough work credits (generally 40 credits, but fewer are needed for younger workers who die), her son is eligible. The husband should call SSA right away - these benefits can provide significant financial help while the son is still a dependent. The adult children wouldn't be eligible unless they have disabilities that began before age 22.

I went thru this when my wife died. its a nightmare dealing with SS on the phone. took me 7 weeks to get an appointment!!!! they hang up on u after making u wait 2 hours. finally i found a way to actually talk to someone at SSA and got the ball rolling. Also make sure he brings death certificate, marriage license, kid's birth certificate and SSN cards to appointment.

I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) when I needed to talk to Social Security about survivor benefits for my nephew last year. They got me connected to a real person at SSA in about 15 minutes instead of waiting for hours or getting disconnected. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The benefit amount will be based on what your friend would have received if she had reached full retirement age. Each child can receive up to 75% of that amount, but there's a family maximum that might reduce it if multiple people are collecting on her record. The son would receive benefits until age 18 (or 19 if still in high school).

When my sister died her kids got benefits but they had to apply within 30 days to get backdated payments to the date of death. Tell him not to wait!!

So sorry about your friend! My neighbor's kid gets around $1,300/month after his mom died last year. He was 15. Don't know if that helps give you an idea, but it really helped them stay afloat.

I HATE how confusing this whole system is!!! Why doesn't SS automatically notify families??? My cousin's husband died and no one told her about benefits for the kids until YEARS later and they lost out on thousands!!! The government makes everything so complicated on purpose, I swear. And then when you call they treat you like you're stupid for not knowing their complicated rules. It makes me SO ANGRY.

Some additional important points: 1. The 16-year-old can receive about 75% of his mother's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is what she would have received at full retirement age. 2. The husband may also be eligible for a one-time death benefit of $255. 3. The husband himself isn't eligible for survivor benefits until age 60 (or 50 if disabled). 4. The application must be done by phone or in person - it cannot be done online. 5. Be aware that there's a family maximum benefit (FMB) which limits the total amount payable on one worker's record, typically 150-180% of the deceased's benefit. I strongly recommend having all documents ready before the appointment: death certificate, birth certificates, Social Security cards, marriage certificate, and recent tax returns if available.

Are you sure the dad's income won't affect things? My kids couldn't get SSI when my wife died because I made "too much money" or something.

Thank you all for this helpful information! I just talked to my friend and let him know about applying for survivor benefits for his son. He had no idea this was available and was really grateful. He's going to call SSA tomorrow morning. I also mentioned the Claimyr service since several of you warned about the phone difficulties. I'll update once they've been through the process in case it helps someone else in this terrible situation.