Life Insurance✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 1/5
Social Security provides a small lump-sum death benefit primarily to:
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why C is correct
Social Security pays a small one-time lump-sum death benefit to an eligible surviving spouse or, in limited cases, to a dependent child. The payment is designed to help offset funeral and burial expenses; it is not intended to replace the worker's income. Income replacement for the family comes through monthly survivor benefits, which continue for qualifying dependents. The lump-sum amount is modest, and its function is essentially a burial grant rather than a true income-replacement tool.
Why the other options are wrong
- A) Replacing a full year of lost income is the role of monthly survivor benefits, not the small one-time death payment.
- B) The payment is for immediate final expenses, not for building a retirement fund.
- D) The benefit is paid to the surviving family for burial needs; it is not routed to the worker's creditors.
Memory hook
A one-time burial grant, not a paycheck replacement.