Widow Benefits Help
If you are worried about your income after your partner passes or have been thrust into a situation where you have lost your spouse, understanding how widow benefits works is important in shoring up your finances. It is important to understand the eligibility criteria, how the process works and how much you may receive. There are currently about 5 million people that receive the widow or widower benefit, which helps to keep many Americans out of financial ruin and poverty.
If you are currently going through the widower or survivor benefits process but need financial assistance prior to the acceptance, try a free financial counselor or your local community action agency. In addition, this website has a range of resource and information on how to get help with bills, medication and other everyday living expenses.
Widow or Widower
Under social security there is a provision for surviving spouses to receive a benefit after their partner’s death dependent on their work and employment record. These survivors are eligible to receive reduced benefits at age 60 and full benefits at full retirement age or anytime afterwards. If your surviving partner is disabled or becomes disabled within 7 years of your death they also become eligible for these benefits but at the age of 50. Survivors must apply directly with Social Security and cannot do so online. You must contact them at 1-800-772-1213 and get an appointment to open an application.
Furthermore if your surviving spouse cares for your child who is also under the age of 16 or is disabled and receives benefits on your record they are eligible for benefits at any age. If your surviving spouse remarries after the age of 60 it will not affect their survivor benefit.
Survivor Benefits
The benefits that your survivor receives is fully dependent upon your average lifetime earnings and is calculated for a basic amount as if you reached full retirement age at the time of your death. The higher your lifetime earnings the more the benefit is worth. Also the maximum benefit is limited to what you would have received in benefits if you were alive. The benefit amounts range in percentages based on your personal situation. If you are a widow or widower of full retirement age your benefit would be 100%. Between the ages of 60 to full retirement age it is pro-rated from 71 and a half to 99 percent depending on your age, and the 71 and a half percent is the lowest survivor benefit awarded. The maximum for families does provide a range from 150-180% of the award rate.
The Social Security government run website provides an in-depth bank of calculators for you to discover what you can expect for your survivor benefit. These benefits can also be affected especially if you earn over the limit allowed while receiving the benefit. Under full retirement age limit is $15,720 per year and over the full retirement age the limit increases to $41,880. The benefits can also be affected by marriage status. If you remarry before the age of 60 years of age you will lose your survivor benefit, however if married after the age of 60 the survivor will continue to receive the benefit. If your living spouse qualifies for other retirement benefits they can switch to these benefits as early as 62 years of age, assuming these benefits are greater than the survivor benefit.
Providing for your widow or widower depends on a number of factors that are taken into account at the time of your death as laid out above.
I have one very poor widow she don’t have anybody to help her so pls help her if u can
Under the age of 60 it seems like a widow gets blocked every which way.
Government workers are completely unrealistic, too.
The government should reconsider the age for benifits. Like myself when my spouse went on hospice care I could no longer work because I was careing for him at home. I am only 58 and no collage degree finding a job to cover all my expenses will almost be impossible.
Dear Kathy
I am in the same boat as u. Where u ever able to get any resources or help??
Sue
I’m also in that boat. I’m 52. Lost my husband when I was 49 and he would have been 60. I had to stop work and care for him for couple of years and it took all we had to bury him. Long story short I now have no home..no job cause I live in a college town imagine how that goes looking for work…no college degree. I worked but I was too busy raising and taking care of my family to further education. I am not eligible for any state benefits or nothing. There is no help out there and treated like street trash when I ask for help and I make it clear I’m not that I had a family and a home and out of my control lost all i had struggling to keep it or people i thought was friends just stole from me. No hope no help no compassion around for us anymore if ever. I’m ready to give up. To be turned down for my husbands benefits the way i was really shocked me. They act lime it is something only they paid in instead of my husband . isn’t there something there since I had no choice but to quit work and take care of him ? I mean giving up my job and my chance of furthering education to succeed for myself to prepare for this was gone in one second so I could help and try to hold on and keep someone that was my life alive with me. I truly understand although dont agree with it why older people give up or want to take their lives instead of going thru this the rest of their live after working hard all their lives. There has to be something to help instead if being judged.
I agree I’m 56 lost my husband 10 years ago. I’ve got no help. I ended up homeless for 6 mths. My car is on it’s last leg .I’m trying work a min wage job. I do cleaning jobs on the side. I’m angry we were marred over 20 years I took care of him last 4 years of his life. He was a vet were good people
Agreed. As a 52 year old widow I am unable to find assistance through any agencies. I am working but need a bit of assistance to cease from drowning in debt due to the loss of my husband’s income.
I’m a widow of 4 kids im not entitled to ssi or cash aid because I used my time clock years ago I hAve panic disorder and denied. Ssi
A widow is a widow no matter what rhe age it’s unfair to leave widow with her husband wages it’s right to give her what’s dye her not control when the year she should get his money it’s her husband it’s his duty to provide for her alive or deceased the law has no rights to discriminate @ her age I think is horrible she’s not deceased she’s yet alive something need to b changed on behalf of the age difference
I totally agree with you. 9 years ago I became a widow at 47. We were married for 27 years. There is no help for me.
A widow is a widow no matter the age. My husband passed unexpectedly and he was 55. He worked all his life and served in the Air Force, and he did not get to use his benefit. I’m the widow, who’s to say I will live to be 60 or 65. This needs to change.
I lost my husband 2 years ago. I’ve had a real hard time finding a job that pays enough to drive to work and pat my bills. Right now i have no income coming in. I can’t pay my bills and i could lose my house. I need 400.00 to keep it and have no way of making that. It’s a shame there is no help for widows that I can get. Homeless over 400.00 I will have no where to go but no one seems to care or offer to help me pay that to keep my house until I can get a job. Hard to find a job when your 57 years old.
i am in the same boat!!! my husband died in January 2018. i am going to loose the house 417$ is my payment no help i can find i have copd and ssi denied me of course…. well I have a agency helping me now but that don’t mean anything!!! i cant beleive it i took care of him theses last 3 years and homless is what i get for doing my best!! yes…. I am angry.
TOTALLY AGREE MY HUSBAND DIED AT 27 YEARS OF MARRAIGE . WE WERE MARRIED IN 82 AND AFTER 1987 I DIDNT WORK. HE WAS THE SOUL PROVIDER. AFTER HE DIED I GOT A WHOLE 2OO SOME ODD DOLLARS TO BURY HIM. BESIDES BEIN IN GRIEVING I WAS EXSPECTED TO GO GET A JOB AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS JUST LIKE THAT. THERE WAS NO HELP AT ALL FOR ME. I TRIED TO GET ON DISABILTY BECAUSE I HAVE BAD ANXIETY AND AGORAPHOBIA. KEPT GETTING DENIED BECAUSE I HAD NO MEDICAL EVIDENCE. 10 YEARS LATER NOT BEING ABLE TO BEG FOR MONEY ANYMORE I WENT GOT A DOCTOR HAD TEST DONE. IT WAS AWFULL MADE ALL MY DISSORDERS WORSE AND LEFT ME EVEN WORSE DEPRESED. MY LAST DENIAL SAID I WASNT AGORPHOBIC BECAUSE I WENT TO THE DOCTOR APPOINTS .I COULDNT EVEN BELIEVE THAT. ANYHOW I TOTALLY AGREE ABOUT THE AGE THING. ITS ARE MONEY AND WE SHOULDNT HAVE TO WAIT TILL THEY THINK WE SHOULD GET IT. THERE JUST HOPING US WIDOWS DIE BEFORE THEY HAVE TO PAY OUT. THIS WORLD IS SO SCREWED UP
I am only 45 and in the past 2 years I lost my mother, 11 months later, my daughter, 195 days later, my dad and just recently, my husband. There is no resources at all for anyone my age. I am about to lose my home. I was the only child to my my parents, my daughters dad was not in her life, and my husbands mother turned her phone off the day after he passed. I have been the only one held responsible for each of their deaths. If anyone knows of any resources please tell me. Thank’s in advance.
I lost my husband past 8 years,my family left us without home, i and childrens stay in a rent house, i work hard for my children to get food , educat. shelter, but now due to my bad health ,i can”t take care of them. please let me know any resources. thanks.
I just recently became a widow never thought that would happen at 34 but it did lost the best man in my life and now I have no help and left all alone
I am widow since January 2018, I am 55 years old. I am left with a lot of bills and was told, I cannot receive any widow benefits until I turn 6o years of age. I don’t know how I will make it. Very depressed.
I have been a widow for almost two years now . my husband died when I was 55. at 57 years old I still have to wait 3 more years to get his social security, something is wrong with the system here.I have bad credit card debt and no money, all because I took care of my terminally ill husband.where is the help for widows out there. very depressing.
I agree that the age limit AND the income earned limit is way to low. The people who make these laws should try to live on what Is considered low income. My husband passed suddenly at 58 and my lifestyle changed dramatically. I lost my home, had to move to a town 11 miles away to afford rent. I took a job that enabled me pay bills, barely, not enough to save, but I did ok. THEN my hours were cut to half time so it made my earned income half as much, my rent went up $175 AND my utilities nearly doubled, and the cost of living has gone up all around. I come in just a little over the threshold to qualify for government assistance. If I work more hours, I lose my social security benefit. If I lose that, then I need work 50-60 hrs/week just to make ends meet. THAT’S hard to do at 65! and to top that off, the business I work for is about to close doors! I’m really at a loss to know what to do. Viable employment is REALLY hard to find at 65. I just really need age and earned income limits to be lifted.
I just lost my husband two weeks ago today. Like many of you I took care of him until he drew his last breath with me and our daughter. He was 58. It is a shame and an outrage that we live in the greatest country in the world and no help for widows. God gave special instructions on the care of widows. And if this country is so godly this is a sure way of denying the faith. I pray for all of us who are in this situation that god helps us to find a solution. I’m only 50 by the way. God bless everyone of you. May his peace and favor rain on you.
I am in the same boat as all of you. I lost my husband after 36 years of marriage, had to cash in all his retirement while he was sick, before dissability kicked in, drew one check before he passed on new years day. Any information to get financial help would be appreciated
Lord have mercy on us all. My new husband of four years, died at 76, he was a veteran, when he died, so did his income. We both only had our social security to live on. Per our president, a veteran could be taken to any hospital and the bill would be paid by the VA, ( we were new to Georgia the nearest VA hospital was 55 miles to Atlanta or over 100 miles to Dublin from our location) no matter what hospital he was taken to. I submitted his bills to the VA over a year ago and still have not heard back. I’m drowning in household and medical bills
Am Memory Samu, am 28 years old, am a Widow, my husband left me with a Daughter. I need help financially, am failing to support my Family and myself. Any one who can help me please
I’m an 80 year old senior on a fixed income. I can’t pay my bills and need help trying to figure things out. I’m told that there is free help finding all the programs available to help our age group but I’m not that to be true. I’m hoping you can help. I live in Georgia and need help paying my unities, auto ins, gas and food. Fresh fruit isn’t in my menu . I live about 1 hour from Macon GA I would appreciate any information you might have.
Just like everyone else. 55 was a sahm then I got sick. Had 2 cancer surgeries then when I finally started to feel some better he got sick. He died of cancer with no insurance. I was denied disability 3 times because I couldn’t prove my illnesses. I took care of everyone else.. not myself. Now struggling to keep my house. There is no help or hope anywhere.