Spouse Insurance Benefits

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

To be eligible for survivor's insurance benefits, an applicant's deceased spouse must have been fully insured or currently insured at the time of death.

HOW LONG CAN I RECEIVE SPOUSE BENEFITS?

Once eligible, a person can receive a monthly spouse insurance benefit until the month before he/she dies.

However, if you are under the age of 60 and are still employed, your benefits could be reduced if you are earning over $1,500 a quarter. See the Earnings Test for more information.

DOES MY AGE AFFECT THE AMOUNT I CAN RECEIVE?

If you are under the age of 60 and unmarried, you can only be entitled to 60% of the basic benefit applicable to the deceased at the time of their death.

Only applicants who are at least 60 years of age and unmarried at the time of application can receive 100% of the basic benefit.

WILL MY BENEFITS BE AFFECTED IF I REMARRY?

If you are 60 years of age or older and decide to remarry, you can continue to receive monthly spouse benefits. However, the amount will be reduced from 100% of the basic benefit to 60%.

If you are under the age of 60 and remarry, you will no longer be eligible for survivor insurance benefits.

Additionally, any beneficiary who remarries cannot receive more than one surviving spouse insurance benefit.

HOW CAN I APPLY?

To apply, please fill out an Application for Survivor Insurance Benefit and submit it along with the required documents as listed in the application.

You must also provide evidence confirming that you were married to the wage earner at the time of his/her death. This can include a marriage certificate or sworn statements by you and two blood relatives of the deceased insured person attesting to the existence of a customary marital relationship.

IF I'M RECEIVING SPOUSE BENEFITS, CAN I ALSO RECEIVE ANOTHER TYPE OF INSURANCE BENEFIT?

The most recent change to the Social Security Act does not allow a beneficiary to receive two types of benefits. So spouse insurance beneficiaries cannot receive retirement or disability insurance benefits at the same time. However, if you are eligible to receive another type of insurance benefit and the amount is higher than your spouse benefit, you can choose to receive the higher amount.

HOW ARE MONTHLY SPOUSE INSURANCE BENEFITS CALCULATED?

The "Basic Benefit" is a monthly payment that is one-twelfth (1/12) of the total of:

21.5% of the first $11,000 of cumulative covered earnings; and
2.9% of cumulative covered earnings in excess of $11,000 but not in excess of the next $33,000; and
1.5% of cumulative covered earnings in excess of $44,000

Below is a sample of how to calcuate benefits for an eligible retiree with cumulative covered earnings of $80,000:

FORMULA:	TOTAL:
$11,000 x 21.5%	$ 2,365.00
$33,000 x 2.9%	$ 957.00
$36,000 x 1.5%	$ 540.00
TOTAL:	$ 3,862.00

BASIC MONTHLY BENEFIT:
$3,862.00 / 12 mos.
= $321.83

SPOUSE INSURANCE BENEFIT:

$321.83 x 60% = $193.10 per month

100% rate at $321.83 if the applicant is at least 60 years old and unmarried.

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