Why you can't draw your spouse social security benefits when they die.

[MarlesaL538871]

I don't  understand  how  a spouse can pay into  Medicare and  taxes and etc,  for years and you can't  draw they benefits  when  one pass away. A spouse  care for one another you obtain  a family property,  cars,  furniture,  and etc but the government  just  take away your  spouse  income  that I feel you are entitled  too receive. Many people  have a financial  hardship  when this happens because a loss of a spouse income,  this should  change  that income  can really  benefit  a spouse at a time  of loss , that's  why people  work  all those  years  to care for each other  so you should  be able to  keep  both income  it's  only  right. 

[GailL1]

Social Security is social insurance for the economic security and social welfare of the INDIVIDUAL and his or her family.  INDIVIDUAL Workers and employers pay into the Social Security system during their working career; these funds are pooled into the Trust Fund to pay an  earning (their own) calculated retirement benefit for the worker when they reach an eligibility age -

• early at a reduced benefit,
• 100% at Full Retirement Age
• or later with a bonus delayed retirement benefit credit

This individualized social insurance also contains a SURVIVORS benefit for certain members of their family IF there are any who are eligible and for whom this Survivors benefit is higher than their own benefit. 

People can only received one benefit at a time from the program since it is individualized and based on an individual's lifetime of earnings.  They either get:

• their own benefit based on their own work record
• or that of a Survivor based on the deceased work record. 
  

The Social Security Administration should award the higher of the (2) amounts if a person qualifies for both of them.  Survivor benefits have to be applied for (by personal contact) UNLESS they are already receiving Spousal benefits prior to the death of the beneficiary and even then, direct contact should be made with SSA, just in case the survivor has benefits of their own (their own work record) which may reap them a higher benefit than a survivors benefit.

So to directly answer the question that is the subject of this thread -

Why you can't draw your spouse social security benefits when they die?

You can - as long as it is higher than your own SS retirement benefit because the program is individualized based on the earnings, contributions of the individual during their working career.  Each individual's benefit is figured based on their own record.  There is NO "Family" earnings and contribution Record.  That's why everybody has their own Social Security number.

You either apply for your own benefit based on your own work record OR that of a Spouse of a living beneficiary. 

When one of them dies, the choice is still the same - get your own benefit based on your own work record OR that of a Suvivor of a deceased beneficiary based on their work record.

[ldeasley2]

Why can't you? Did anyone answer this because I would like to know also?

[MelvaT824033]

Because of the government's greed!

[Brightpool]

I agree that it would be nice if we could collect on two accounts at once, but SS only allows us to make claim to one account at a time. That's just one of the many rules.

Social Security was never intended to support us completely. It was only meant to provide a help with the gap between our living expenses and any other earnings, investments, savings, life insurance payouts, retirement accounts, and so on elsewhere.

When our political employees set up the program, they had to draw the line somewhere.

Enjoy!

[fffred]

Of course a widow can get benefits, with some eligibility requirements.

A spouse of the "insured" is entitled to "survivor" benefits should the insured decease, just as they are entitled to spousal benefits. There are certain eligibility requirements for both cases (spouse and survivor), primarily regarding age.

The spouse of the "insured" or "worker" (terms the SSA - Social Security Administration uses) is entitled to survivors benefits when they reach the age of 60 (which is different than spousal benefits, for which the minimum age is 62). Survivors benefits can be entitled at a younger age if  there are young children....see the rules for this case.

Start with reviewing this document at the SSA:  https://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/ifyou.html

However, for example, if the survivor is, say, 52 years old and there are no young children, then the survivor would not be eligible for survivors benefits until they were age 60 or older.

You may want to use the Social Security forum at AARP:    https://community.aarp.org/t5/Social-Security/bd-p/bf17

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@MarlesaL538871 wrote:

I don't  understand  how  a spouse can pay into  Medicare and  taxes and etc,  for years and you can't  draw they benefits  when  one pass away. A spouse  care for one another you obtain  a family property,  cars,  furniture,  and etc but the government  just  take away your  spouse  income  that I feel you are entitled  too receive. Many people  have a financial  hardship  when this happens because a loss of a spouse income,  this should  change  that income  can really  benefit  a spouse at a time  of loss , that's  why people  work  all those  years  to care for each other  so you should  be able to  keep  both income  it's  only  right. 

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