Social Security survivor benefits payment date - will it follow my husband's birthday or mine?
I recently applied for survivor benefits after losing my husband last December. I'm turning 60 next month and decided to file for the early survivor benefits even though I know they're reduced. The SSA rep I spoke with was super busy and rushed through my questions. What I forgot to ask was: when I start receiving the monthly payments, will they come on the date determined by MY birth date or my late HUSBAND'S birth date? His birthday was on the 11th so he always got his disability payment on the second Wednesday. My birthday is on the 28th which would put me in the 4th Wednesday group. I'm trying to plan my bill payments accordingly, and the difference of 2 weeks matters for my budget planning. Has anyone gone through this who can tell me which schedule they'll use?
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NeonNinja
I'm in the exact same situation! Applied for survivor benefits when I turned 60 last year (my hubby passed in 2022). They go by YOUR birth date, not your husband's. My husband was paid on 3rd Wednesday, but my survivor check comes on 1st Wednesday based on my birth date. It took about 8 weeks for my first payment to arrive after approval, and they included some back pay to my application date.
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Diego Vargas
•Thank you! That's exactly what I needed to know. Did they notify you when your application was approved or did you just suddenly see the deposit? I've been checking my bank account daily like a crazy person.
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Anastasia Popov
The SSA website is USELESS on explaining this clearly!! I spent 3 HOURS trying to find this information when my wife died. You'll get paid based on YOUR birthday, not his. They restructure it as if it's YOUR benefit now, even though it's calculated from his earnings record. The whole system is needlessly confusing and they make it impossible to get simple answers without waiting on hold for hours!!
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Sean Murphy
•its not that confusing they just busy. i had same question when my husband passed and the lady at the office explained everything.
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Zara Khan
To answer your question clearly: Survivor benefits payment dates follow YOUR birth date, not your deceased spouse's. The payment schedule is: - Born on 1st-10th: Second Wednesday - Born on 11th-20th: Third Wednesday - Born on 21st-31st: Fourth Wednesday Since your birthday is on the 28th, you'll receive payments on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Also, be aware that when you first start receiving benefits, there might be an adjustment period, so the first payment might not follow this schedule exactly. After that, it should regularize to the fourth Wednesday pattern.
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Diego Vargas
•Thanks for laying it out so clearly. So I'll need to adjust my bill payment schedule since I was used to having money come in earlier in the month when my husband was alive. I appreciate the confirmation!
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Luca Ferrari
when my mom started getting my dads ss after he died the check came on her birthday schedule not his. she also had to wait almost 3 months to get approved so dont panic if it takes time
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Diego Vargas
•3 months! I was hoping it would be faster than that. Did she have to keep calling them for updates or did they just notify her eventually?
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Nia Davis
I've been trying to reach SSA for weeks about my own survivor benefits question, and it's been IMPOSSIBLE. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a real person at SSA in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me hours of redial hell. The agent confirmed that survivor benefits follow YOUR birth date for payment scheduling, not your spouse's.
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Mateo Martinez
•I can confirm this is correct information. As a financial planner who works with many widowed clients, I always advise them that survivor benefits follow the recipient's birth date for payment scheduling. This is true regardless of when the deceased spouse received their benefits. The Social Security Administration treats it as your benefit (based on your spouse's earnings record) once you start receiving it, so all aspects of payment - including deposit date - follow your information.
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Diego Vargas
I just wanted to update everyone - my application was approved! It took about 5 weeks from application to approval. And yes, they are scheduling my payments based on MY birth date (4th Wednesday). I got a letter in the mail with all the details. The first payment included some back pay to the application date. Thanks everyone for your help!
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NeonNinja
•Congrats! So happy for you. One thing to keep in mind - if you ever go back to work while receiving these early survivor benefits, make sure you understand the earnings limit. I got hit with an overpayment notice because I earned too much part-time income and nobody warned me about it!
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