When a fully insured worker dies, which Social Security benefit is typically available to a surviving spouse who is caring for the couple's young children?
Select an option to reveal the answer and the full 3-part explanation — free, no signup.
Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
Social Security pays monthly survivor income benefits to a surviving spouse who is caring for dependent children under age 16, and to the children themselves, when the deceased worker was fully insured. The benefit replaces a portion of the worker's earnings and continues while the children are young. Survivor benefits are also payable to a widow or widower beginning at age 60, and a small lump-sum death payment may be made at the time of death. The child-in-care benefit typically ends when the youngest child reaches age 16, and the family advisor should plan for the income gap between that point and the survivor's own benefit eligibility.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) The spouse's own retirement benefit is a separate benefit based on the spouse's own work record; survivor benefits come from the deceased worker's record. The survivor cannot draw two retirement benefits from different records at the same time; the benefit selected comes from one record.
- C) Medicare is not a survivor benefit; it generally requires the beneficiary to be age 65 or to have a qualifying disability. Medicare eligibility is age-based or disability-based and is not a survivor income benefit.
- D) The lump-sum death payment is a one-time amount of limited size payable to a qualifying surviving spouse, not a year's earnings. The lump sum is a separate, small payment and is not a substitute for monthly survivor income.
Memory hook
Worker dies, kids at home, monthly survivor checks replace a piece of the paycheck.