Explore the Benefits You May Be Due 


You, or Your Family Members, May Be Eligible for Increased Benefits 
Our mission is to deliver Social Security services that meet the changing needs of the public. It's not unusual for a benefit recipient's circumstances to change after they apply or became eligible for benefits. If you, or a family member, receive Social Security or Supplemental Security Income SSI , certain life changes may affect eligibility for an increase in your federal benefits. For example , if your spouse or ex - spouse dies , you may become eligible for a higher Social Security benefit. To find out if you, or a family member, might be eligible for a benefit based on another person s work, or a higher benefit based on your own work , see the information about benefits on the Social Security website. You can also use the Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool BEST to find out if you could get benefits that Social Security administers. Based on your answers to questions , this tool will list benefits for which you might be eligible and tell you more information about how to qualify and apply. The questions and answers below are about a few of the life changes that could possibly increase your benefits. If your spouse or ex - spouse has died , you may be eligible for a higher survivor benefit based on his or her work. The death of an ex - spouse may allow you to be eligible for a higher survivor benefit even if you are already receiving a survivor benefit on another spouse. If you are at least age 65 , you may be eligible for cash benefits on your own record. If you are full retirement age or older , you can work and receive your monthly Social Security benefits, no matter how much you earn. Please review this publication for more information. If your child had enough work credits and was providing at least half of your support , you may be eligible for a higher parent's benefit based on his or her work. If you have worked , you may be eligible for a higher

user: Hi there, how is it going?. Look, i was told the other day to search information about possible benefits that may be due for me and my family, could you tell me if that's true?

assistant: Sure, no problem. But first, let me ask you, Are you or any member of your family eligible for some benefits?

user: Oh yeah, some of them are eligible for that, as i am.

assistant: That's great. You know that our mission is to deliver Social Security services that meet the changing need of the public.

assistant: Are you or any member of your family, receiving Social Security or Supplemental Security Income?

user: No, currently no one is receiving any of those.

assistant: Have your spouse or ex-spouse died?

user: Yeah, mi ex-spouse, some months ago.

assistant: I'm sorry for your loss. However, for that happening, you may become eligible for a higher Social Security benefit.

user: Oh, well, i suppose a little compensation isn't bad at all, huh?..Is there any requirements for that? Because i'm 64 and well i haven't married again.

assistant: Very well. You may be eligible for a benefit based on a former spouse's work if that marriage lasted 10 years or more.

user: Umm, that would be nice, i think. Is so much information, what can i do if a need more? Can i contact you?

assistant: Sure. You can always use our website, which is a valuable resource for information about all Social Security's programs. There you can do a lot of things.