Social Security survivor benefits after father's death - automatic transfer or application needed?

I'm so sorry for your loss. Unfortunately, Social Security is NOT automatically notified in most cases, despite what many funeral homes claim. Your mother needs to apply for survivor benefits - these don't happen automatically. She should call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 to report the death and schedule an appointment to apply for survivor benefits. She will likely receive his full benefit amount instead of her smaller benefit. And yes, she should specifically request the $255 death benefit during this same appointment - it's not automatic either. Make sure she has his death certificate, their marriage certificate, both SSNs, and his most recent tax return when she applies.

sorry about ur dad's passing. the funeral home DOES notify ss but thats just to stop his payments. they dont set up survivor benefits 4 ur mom. she def needs 2 apply 4 those.

When my husband died two years ago, I had to go through this exact process. The funeral home did notify SSA about his death, but that only stopped his payments. I had to separately apply for survivor benefits. It was extremely frustrating because I couldn't get through on the phone for weeks and the online system doesn't handle survivor applications. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a real person at SSA. They have a system that basically waits on hold for you and calls you when an agent picks up. Saved me hours of frustration. You can see how it works in their video: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Make sure your mom applies as soon as possible because survivor benefits are only backdated for a limited time. And definitely claim that $255 death benefit during the same call.

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your father. The previous advice is correct - survivor benefits require an application, and Social Security does need to be formally notified of the death. A few important points to remember: 1) When your mother applies for widow's benefits, she'll receive either her own benefit amount or up to 100% of your father's benefit amount, whichever is higher. Based on the amounts you mentioned, she would receive your father's $2,400. 2) There is a time limit for filing - benefits can only be paid retroactively for up to 6 months from application date. 3) The $255 death benefit must be claimed within 2 years of death. 4) If your mother is currently under her Full Retirement Age (FRA), there may be additional considerations if she is working. I would recommend calling SSA first thing in the morning when they open (8am local time) as that's when wait times are shortest.

The funeral director told my family they'd "take care of everything" when my mom died last year too, but that just meant notifying SS to stop her checks. We had to figure out the survivor stuff ourselves and my dad lost a month of benefits because we waited too long!

This INFURIATES me about the SSA system! Why should grieving families have to jump through all these hoops?! My sister had to deal with this nightmare when her husband passed, and she literally had to make TWENTY-SEVEN calls to finally get through to someone. The left hand doesn't know what the right is doing at SSA. The funeral home notification should AUTOMATICALLY trigger the survivor benefit process, but NOOOO, that would be too logical and efficient for our government!!! And that pathetic $255 death benefit hasn't been increased since the 1950s!!! Get your mom to apply ASAP because they'll only backpay 6 months MAX, and the process takes FOREVER.

Just want to add that my mom didn't get the full amount of my dad's benefit when he died. She got something called the "survivors benefit amount" which was a percentage of his benefit. I think it depends on your age and if you're disabled... the SSA website has a whole calculation thing but its super confusing tbh.

make sure ur mom keeps the money thats already in their bank account from his last check. SS will prob take back his last payment if he died b4 the 3rd of the month but if it was after she gets to keep it

One other thing - when I went through this, they told me the $255 death benefit could only be paid to a surviving spouse who was living with the deceased at the time of death. If your parents lived together, she'll get it, but if they were separated or living apart for any reason, there might be an issue. Just wanted to mention it so you're prepared.