How much is the Social Security survivor benefit?

Up to 100% of the benefit the deceased was receiving, or of their full-retirement-age benefit (PIA) if they had not started. You get the full amount if you claim at your survivor full retirement age. At 60, the earliest age, it is 71.5%.

What is the earliest age for survivor benefits?

60, or 50 if you are disabled. A disabled survivor aged 50 to 59 receives the same 71.5% as a survivor who claims at 60. At any age, benefits are also paid if you care for the deceased's child under 16 or disabled.

What if my spouse claimed Social Security early?

Your survivor benefit is limited to the larger of what they were receiving and 82.5% of their PIA. If they took 70% at 62, the most you can receive, even at your full retirement age, is 82.5% of their PIA. This is often called the widow's limit.

Do the deceased's delayed retirement credits count?

Yes. If they waited past full retirement age and earned delayed credits, the survivor benefit is based on that higher amount. This is the main way one spouse's claiming age decides the other's income for life.

Can I remarry and keep survivor benefits?

Yes, if you remarry at 60 or later, or at 50 or later if you are entitled as a disabled survivor. Remarrying before those ages generally ends survivor benefits on that record while the new marriage lasts.

Can I take a survivor benefit now and my own benefit later?

Yes. Deemed filing applies only to retirement and spousal benefits, so a survivor can take one benefit and switch to the other later: for example, a reduced survivor benefit from 60 and their own benefit at 70 with delayed credits, or their own early and the full survivor benefit at survivor full retirement age.

Social Security Survivor Benefits: Up to 100% of Their Benefit

A widow or widower can receive up to 100% of the deceased’s benefit, including any delayed retirement credits they earned, if they claim at their survivor full retirement age (20 CFR §404.338). The earliest age is 60, where the benefit is 71.5%; the 28.5% reduction shrinks month by month until full retirement age (20 CFR §404.410(c)).

Enter the deceased’s benefit and the age you would claim: you get the monthly survivor benefit, whether the 82.5% widow’s limit applies, and how it compares with your own benefit. While both spouses are alive, see spousal benefits.

Survivor benefit calculator

Paid tool The survivor amount follows from the rules below; what the household can still decide is when each spouse claims, how withdrawals bridge to those ages, and how much tax the survivor pays on single brackets. Personal PRO runs your household’s plan with 10,000 simulations, the Roth conversion optimizer and the survivor years modelled with a mortality table, and gives you a PDF report you keep. A planning tool, not advice: the results move when your assumptions do. Plan the survivor years, withdrawals and taxes — Personal PRO ($49) → See what is included →

See your plan with the survivor years and their taxes — free →

How much is the survivor benefit?

The survivor benefit starts from the deceased’s primary insurance amount (PIA) and is increased by any delayed retirement credits they earned by waiting past full retirement age (20 CFR §404.338(a) and (b)). Claim at your survivor full retirement age and you receive all of it; claim earlier and it is reduced by 28.5% at 60, falling in equal monthly steps to nothing at full retirement age. The reduction for each month early is 0.285 divided by the number of months from 60 to your full retirement age (20 CFR §404.410(c)(1); 42 U.S.C. §402(q)).

Survivor benefit as a share of the deceased’s benefit, survivor full retirement age 67 (born 1962 or later), computed with the reduction in 20 CFR §404.410(c)
Claim age	Months early	Share of their benefit	On a $2,400 benefit
60	84	71.5%	$1,716
61	72	75.6%	$1,814
62	60	79.6%	$1,911
63	48	83.7%	$2,009
64	36	87.8%	$2,107
65	24	91.9%	$2,205
66	12	95.9%	$2,302
67 to 70	0	100.0%	$2,400

Survivor full retirement age is its own table

The full retirement age for a widow’s or widower’s benefit runs two birth years behind the retirement table (20 CFR §404.409(b)): 66 if you were born from 1945 to 1956, rising two months per birth year from 1957 (66 and 2 months) to 1961 (66 and 10 months), and 67 if you were born in 1962 or later. Someone born in 1960 reaches full retirement age for their own benefit at 67 but for a survivor benefit at 66 and 8 months. SSA treats a person born on January 1 as born the year before. For your own retirement benefit, see full retirement age by birth year.

The widow’s limit when they claimed early

If the deceased took reduced retirement benefits before their full retirement age, your survivor benefit cannot be more than the larger of what they were receiving and 82.5% of their PIA (42 U.S.C. §402(e)(2)(D); 20 CFR §404.338(c)). Take a worker with a $2,400 PIA who claimed at 62 and received $1,680 (70%). The limit is the larger of $1,680 and $1,980, so a survivor who waits until full retirement age receives $1,980, not $2,400. A survivor who claims at 60 receives the age-reduced $1,716, which is already under the limit. The calculator applies whichever is lower.

Their delayed credits pass to you

Delayed retirement credits raise the worker’s own benefit by 2/3 of 1% for each month they wait past full retirement age, to 70 (42 U.S.C. §402(w)), and the survivor benefit is based on that increased amount (20 CFR §404.338(b)). A worker with a $2,400 PIA and a full retirement age of 67 who waits to 70 receives $2,976, and a survivor at full retirement age would receive the same $2,976. When the higher earner delays, they are also raising the income of whichever spouse outlives the other. The claiming-age calculator puts that decision in lifetime dollars.

Survivor benefit or your own: you can switch

If you qualify for both, you are paid the larger, not both. Deemed filing, which ties together an application for retirement and spousal benefits, covers only those two (42 U.S.C. §402(r)), so a survivor can take one benefit first and switch to the other later. Two common orders: a reduced survivor benefit from 60 and your own benefit at 70 with delayed credits, or your own benefit early and the full survivor benefit at survivor full retirement age. Which is larger depends on the two amounts, so enter your own PIA above to compare them at the same age.

Who qualifies: marriage, divorce, disability, remarriage

Marriage length. You generally must have been married for at least 9 months before the death, with exceptions such as an accidental death (20 CFR §404.335(a)).
Divorced survivors. A former spouse qualifies on the same terms if the marriage lasted at least 10 years before the divorce became final (20 CFR §404.336).
Disabled survivors. Benefits can start at 50 if you are disabled, and are reduced as if you were 60, so 71.5% (20 CFR §404.410(c)(2)).
Remarriage. Remarrying at 60 or later, or at 50 or later while entitled as a disabled survivor, does not end survivor benefits (20 CFR §404.335(e)). Remarrying earlier generally does, while that marriage lasts.
Children in care. A survivor of any age caring for the deceased’s entitled child can receive benefits, which this calculator does not model.

For the tax side of losing a spouse, the move from joint to single brackets with roughly the same income, see the widow’s tax penalty.

Common questions

How much is the Social Security survivor benefit?: Up to 100% of the benefit the deceased was receiving, or of their full-retirement-age benefit (PIA) if they had not started. You get the full amount if you claim at your survivor full retirement age. At 60, the earliest age, it is 71.5%.
What is the earliest age for survivor benefits?: 60, or 50 if you are disabled. A disabled survivor aged 50 to 59 receives the same 71.5% as a survivor who claims at 60. At any age, benefits are also paid if you care for the deceased’s child under 16 or disabled.
What if my spouse claimed Social Security early?: Your survivor benefit is limited to the larger of what they were receiving and 82.5% of their PIA. If they took 70% at 62, the most you can receive, even at your full retirement age, is 82.5% of their PIA. This is often called the widow’s limit.
Do the deceased’s delayed retirement credits count?: Yes. If they waited past full retirement age and earned delayed credits, the survivor benefit is based on that higher amount. This is the main way one spouse’s claiming age decides the other’s income for life.
Can I remarry and keep survivor benefits?: Yes, if you remarry at 60 or later, or at 50 or later if you are entitled as a disabled survivor. Remarrying before those ages generally ends survivor benefits on that record while the new marriage lasts.
Can I take a survivor benefit now and my own benefit later?: Yes. Deemed filing applies only to retirement and spousal benefits, so a survivor can take one benefit and switch to the other later: for example, a reduced survivor benefit from 60 and their own benefit at 70 with delayed credits, or their own early and the full survivor benefit at survivor full retirement age.

Sources: 42 U.S.C. §402 (subsections (e), (q), (r), (w)); 20 CFR §404.335, §404.336, §404.338, §404.409, §404.410; SSA’s survivor benefits page. Checked 2026-09-24. Estimates are before SSA’s rounding (reductions up to the next 10 cents, payments down to the dollar) and any family-maximum limit. QuantCalc is calculation software for education and planning, not financial advice; confirm your figures with the Social Security Administration.