In addition to monthly survivor income, Social Security may provide a surviving spouse with:
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
Social Security pays a modest lump-sum death benefit to the eligible survivor, generally the surviving spouse who was living with the worker at death, or to a surviving child if there is no spouse. This one-time payment is a small statutory amount, not a replacement for life insurance. The payment is available in addition to ongoing monthly survivor income and is a distinct, testable element of the survivor program. The amount is modest and is intended to help with immediate expenses such as funeral costs rather than to replace the deceased worker's income.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) The lump-sum death benefit is a small fixed statutory amount, not a multiple of the worker's earnings. Eligibility is limited to the surviving spouse or, in some cases, a surviving child.
- C) No Social Security payment equals the worker's full annual salary as a death benefit. No Social Security death payment is ever computed as a multiple of the worker's past earnings.
- D) The benefit requires the worker to have earned sufficient credits; it is not guaranteed without a qualifying earnings record. The worker's salary is not a measure of any Social Security death benefit.
Memory hook
A small one-time death check on top of the survivor checks. Social Security buries a modest lump sum, not a fortune.