Understanding Social Security Survivors Benefits

We are here for surviving family members when a worker dies. In the event of your death, certain members of your family may be eligible for survivors benefits. These include widows and widowers, divorced widows and widowers, children, and dependent parents.

The amount of benefits your survivors receive depends on your lifetime earnings. The higher your earnings, the higher their benefits. That’s why it’s important to make sure your earnings history is correct in our records. You can do this by creating a personal my Social Security account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. A my Social Security account is secure and gives you immediate access to your earnings records, Social Security benefit estimates, and a printable Social Security Statement to see an estimate of survivors benefits we could pay your family.

You may also want to visit our Benefits Planner for Survivors to help you better understand your and your family’s Social Security protections as you plan for your financial future at www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors.

Please visit www.ssa.gov or read our publication Survivors Benefits at www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10084.pdf for more information. You can also help us spread the word by sharing this information with your family and friends.