Benefits Planner: Survivors | Planning For Your Survivors 
As you plan for the future , you'll want to think about what your family would need if you should die now. Social Security can help your family if you have earned enough Social Security credits through your work. You can earn up to four credits each year. In 2019 , for example , you earn one credit for each $1,360 of wages or self - employment income. When you have earned $5,440 , you have earned your four credits for the year. The number of credits needed to provide benefits for your survivors depends on your age when you die. No one needs more than 40 credits 10 years of work to be eligible for any Social Security benefit. But , the younger a person is , the fewer credits they must have for family members to receive survivors benefits. Benefits can be paid to your children and your spouse who is caring for the children even if you don't have the required number of credits. They can get benefits if you have credit for one and one - half years of work 6 credits in the three years just before your death. 

For Your Widow Or Widower 
There are about five million widows and widowers receiving monthly Social Security benefits based on their deceased spouse's earnings record. And , for many of those survivors, particularly aged women, those benefits are keeping them out of poverty. Widows and widowers can receive : reduced benefits as early as age 60 or full benefits at full retirement age or older. benefits as early as age 50 if they're disabled AND their disability started before or within seven years of your death. benefits at any age , if they have not remarried , and if they take care of your child who is under age 16 or disabled and receives benefits on your record. If applying for disability benefits on a deceased worker s record , they can speed up the application process if they complete an Adult Disability Report and have it available at the time of their appointment. We use the same definition of dis

user: I want to know about planning Social Security benefits for the future in case I die.

assistant: Are you already planning for the future?

user: Yes, I am

assistant: Since you are already thinking about what your family would need in case you die, I can tell you that Social Security can help your family if you have earned enough credits through your work.

user: Tell me some of the things I need to know about it.

assistant: Well, one important thing is to know that there are limits on how much your survivors may earn while they receive the benefits.

user: Tell me about what would happen if my surviving divorced wife remarries after my death.

assistant: If she remarries before turning 60 then she won't be able to get the benefits while she is still married.

user: And what if she qualifies but the amount she could get from her new husband's Social Security benefits are more than what she would receive from mine?

assistant: then she should apply for her new husband's benefits and then she would receive a combination of benefits that would amount to be equal to the highest benefits amount.

user: What if I die before earning enough credits and my widow is still taking care of our children?

assistant: in that case, your children and widow would still receive the benefits, no matter if you didn't manage to earn enough credits.