Your family may be entitled to your benefits after you die. If you earned enough credits to be covered by Social Security, your spouse and your dependents may be entitled to receive benefits when you die. In some cases, when the surviving spouse is covered by the deceased worker's benefit record in the month before death, this benefit is paid automatically when a worker dies, and the surviving spouse need not apply to the Social Security Administration to obtain it. In other cases, however, the benefit must be applied for by the survivor within two years of the worker's death. The Social Security Administration has established the priority rights to this death benefit payment.
First priority goes to a spouse who lived in the same household as the worker when the worker died.
Second priority goes to a spouse who was not living with the worker at the time of death, provided that the surviving spouse was entitled to or eligible for benefits based on the deceased spouse's record for the month in which the death occurred. In determining survivor benefit payments, the Social Security Administration will check a surviving spouse's earnings record to determine if he or she is eligible to receive benefits on his or her own record. If that payment would be larger than the payment due from the deceased worker's record, the larger payment will be made. Inc. All rights reserved. Legal and copyright notice.