Social Security survivor benefits for 76-year-old widow - husband just passed at 68 with higher SSDI benefit

First, please accept my condolences for your mother-in-law's loss. To answer your question - yes, she should be eligible to receive survivor benefits based on her late husband's record, and in this case, it would likely be advantageous for her to switch. Since her husband was receiving $3,100 and she's only getting $1,250, she could receive up to 100% of what he was receiving since she's well past her full retirement age. She should contact Social Security immediately (within the first month if possible) as benefits are not always automatically adjusted, and some benefits like the one-time death payment of $255 must be claimed within a specific timeframe.

my mom went thru this last year when dad passed. make sure she brings the death certificate, their marriage certificate, both ss cards, and her ID. they'll want ALL of it trust me. the funeral home should give her several copies of the death certificate, tell her not to be cheap about getting extras!!

I went through this exact situation when my husband passed. Your mother-in-law will be entitled to receive a survivor benefit equal to 100% of what her husband was receiving, which would replace her smaller benefit. She won't receive both - it's one or the other, whichever is higher. Since she's over FRA, there are no reductions to worry about. What she needs to know: 1. Call SSA first to report the death and schedule an appointment 2. This CANNOT be done online - must be in person or by phone 3. The $255 death benefit is separate and she should specifically ask about it 4. If he received a payment for the month he died, they may ask for it back depending on the date 5. The survivor benefit doesn't start automatically - she MUST apply Hope this helps. I know it's overwhelming.

Sorry for your loss. When my husband passed last year, I spent THREE WEEKS trying to get through to SSA on the phone!!! It was horrible - kept disconnecting me after an hour on hold. I finally found out about a service called Claimyr that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in 20 minutes. Literally saved me weeks of frustration. I just visited claimyr.com and they connected me right away. They even have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Trust me, the LAST thing your mother-in-law needs right now is to deal with busy signals and disconnections. The survivor benefit paperwork is time-sensitive!

I HATE how the whole system works!!!! My sister had the EXACT same situation and SSA didn't tell her ANYTHING!!! She was getting $1100/mo and her husband got $2700 and after he died they just kept paying her the $1100!!! For SIX MONTHS until I went with her to SSA!!! They owed her backpay but tried to deny it saying she should have known to apply!!! HOW WOULD SHE KNOW THAT??? The system is BROKEN and they prey on grieving widows who don't know the rules!!! Make SURE your mother-in-law applies IMMEDIATELY and DEMAND any backpay if there's a delay!!!!

One more important point - since her husband was on SSDI (not retirement benefits), there's something called the Disability Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) that factors into the survivor calculation. In most cases, it works out to be the same amount he was receiving, but occasionally there can be small differences. The SSA representative will be able to calculate the exact amount, but she should expect somewhere very close to the $3,100 he was receiving. Also, payments are made in the month following the month they're for, so if he passed late in the month, that's important for determining when her new benefit rate begins.

is she on medicare? cuz that might change too with the higher benefit amount. might effect her part b premium or something idk really but worth asking

Update: I went with my mother-in-law to the funeral home today and got 10 copies of the death certificate. We've scheduled an appointment with SSA for next week. They told us she should bring her ID, both their Social Security cards, marriage certificate, death certificate, and a recent bank statement. I'm going to go with her to make sure everything gets handled correctly. Thank you all for your advice - it's been incredibly helpful during this difficult time.

my friend said when her mom died the dad got a letter automatic like 2 weeks later and didnt have to do nothing. is that different for husbands vs wives or something?