Survivor Benefits Calculator

Part of every Social Security tax payment buys life insurance. When a worker dies, the surviving spouse, children and sometimes parents can receive monthly benefits based on the worker's earnings, and SSA points out that the value of this protection is probably more than most people's individual life insurance. In August 2026 about 5,767,000 people received survivor benefits: nondisabled widows and widowers averaged $1,934.37 a month, children of deceased workers $1,181.07 and widowed mothers and fathers caring for children $1,387.46. Every survivor benefit is a percentage of one number, the worker's primary insurance amount (PIA), which the Social Security Calculator estimates from earnings.

Who can receive survivor benefits

• A surviving spouse aged 60 or older, or 50 to 59 with a disability that began before or within seven years of the worker's death, who was married to the worker for at least nine months.
• A surviving spouse of any age caring for the worker's child who is under 16 or disabled and receiving benefits, with no nine-month rule.
• A divorced spouse whose marriage lasted at least 10 years, under the same age rules.
• Children who are unmarried and under 18, 18 or 19 and still in grades K-12 full time, or any age with a disability that began before 22.
• Dependent parents aged 62 or older who received at least half of their support from the worker.

The worker must also have been insured. The younger the worker, the fewer credits are needed, and no one needs more than 10 years of work. Under a special rule, children and the spouse caring for them can be paid if the worker worked only a year and a half in the three years before death. SSA also makes a one-time $255 lump-sum death payment to a qualifying spouse or child, which must be claimed within two years. Apply promptly: for some claims SSA pays benefits only from the month you apply, not from the month of the death.

Survivor benefit rates and the formula

The rates are written into section 202 of the Social Security Act. The table applies them to a worker with a PIA of $2,000 and assumes the family maximum is not reached.

Between 60 and full survivor age the widow(er)'s benefit rises in equal monthly steps. The reduction is spread evenly over the months from 60 to full survivor age, so the formula depends on the year of birth:

For anyone born in 1962 or later, full survivor age is 67, so the reduction is spread over 84 months and each month earlier costs 28.5% ÷ 84 = about 0.339% of the benefit.

Worked example 1: a widow(er) starting at 60, 62 or 67

Linda was born in 1964 and her husband's PIA was $2,000. Her full survivor age is 67. If she starts at 60, all 84 months of the reduction period lie ahead, the reduction is the full 28.5%, or $570, and she receives $1,430. If she starts at 62, she is 60 months early: 28.5% × 60 ÷ 84 = 20.357%, a reduction of $407.14 that is rounded up to $407.20, leaving $1,592.80, paid as $1,592. If she waits until 67, she receives the full $2,000.

Each year she waits between 60 and 67 adds about $81 to $82 a month: $1,511 at 61, $1,674 at 63, $1,755 at 64, $1,837 at 65 and $1,918 at 66. Waiting beyond full survivor age adds nothing, because survivor benefits do not earn delayed retirement credits. Starting at 60 pays seven extra years of checks; starting at 67 pays $570 more each month for life. Measured in today's dollars, the $1,430 she collects from 60 to 67 totals $120,120, and the extra $570 a month after 67 takes about 17 and a half years to make that up, until about 84 and a half.

Benefit percentage by claiming age and birth year

Full survivor age moves from 66 to 67 for people born from 1957 to 1962, two months per year of birth, and the monthly step changes with it. The table lists the exact percentage of the worker's benefit at each birthday, computed with the formula above. Someone born on January 1 uses the previous year.

Every row starts at 71.5% and reaches 100% at full survivor age. SSA's survivor benefits page gives the same shape in round numbers: over 75% at 61, over 80% at 63 and over 90% at 65. The years of birth follow SSA's rule for widows and widowers: use the retirement age table with two years added to each birth year, which is why the move from 66 to 67 runs from 1957 to 1962 instead of from 1955 to 1960.

Worked example 2: a parent and two children reach the family maximum

Daniel died in 2026 at 44 with a PIA of $2,500. His wife cares for their two children, ages 8 and 12. Each of the three is entitled to 75% of his PIA, $1,875.00, for a total of $5,625.00. His family maximum is $4,617.50, so every benefit is cut in the same proportion: $4,617.50 ÷ $5,625.00 = 82.09%, or $1,539.17 each, paid as $1,539. The family receives $4,617 a month.

The family total does not shrink in step when a child ages out. When the older child turns 18 (or 19 if still in high school), the remaining two benefits add up to $3,750, below the maximum, so the parent and the younger child each receive the full $1,875. When the younger child turns 16, the parent's benefit for caring for a child ends; the child continues at $1,875 until 18. The parent can claim again as a widow at 60, at 71.5% of $2,500, or $1,787, or wait for the full $2,500 at 67.

The 2026 survivor family maximum

For a worker who reached 62 or died before 62 in 2026, SSA limits the total paid on the record with a formula built on the PIA:

The table applies it to typical PIAs and shows what a parent caring for two children would each receive.

The cap is tightest for small PIAs, at 150%, and loosest around a PIA of $2,371, where it peaks at about 187.5% before settling toward 175%. SSA describes the range as roughly 150% to 180%. A divorced spouse's benefit is paid outside the maximum and does not reduce anyone else, and the family maximum for a worker who reached 62 in an earlier year uses that year's bend points.

"In proportion" means each survivor keeps the same share of their full rate, so the type of benefit you claim matters. Suppose a widow aged 62 with two children under 16 claims the aged widow's benefit on a $2,000 PIA. The full rates are $2,000 for her and $1,500 for each child, $5,000 in all, and the $3,435.50 maximum scales each one to 68.71%. Her share of $1,374.20 is then reduced for age to $1,094, and each child receives $1,030, for $3,154 in total. If she claims the benefit for caring for the children instead, at 75% with no reduction for age, all three receive $1,145, or $3,435. The calculator points out this choice whenever a widow(er) of 60 or older has children on the record.

If the worker claimed early or delayed

When the worker was already collecting retirement benefits, two rules change the widow(er)'s figure. If the worker started early and received a reduced benefit, the survivor benefit is limited to the larger of the worker's actual payment or 82.5% of the PIA. Suppose Linda's husband had claimed at 62 and received $1,400. Her limit is the larger of $1,400 and $1,650, so $1,650. Starting at 60 she still receives $1,430, at 62 $1,592, but from 62 and 9 months onward the limit binds and waiting longer adds nothing: even at 67 she receives $1,650, not $2,000.

If the worker delayed past full retirement age, the delayed retirement credits pass to the survivor. Had her husband waited until 70 and received $2,480, Linda would receive $2,480 at full survivor age, $1,975 at 62 and $1,773 at 60. Children's benefits and the family maximum still use the PIA.

Switching between a survivor benefit and your own

Many widows and widowers have a retirement benefit of their own. SSA never adds the two together: you receive the higher amount. But you can take one first and switch to the other later, and that choice is often worth more than either benefit alone. Suppose Linda's own PIA is $1,800. Her own benefit would be $1,260 at 62 (a 30% reduction), $1,800 at 67 and $2,232 at 70 after eight percent a year of delayed retirement credits. Three plans, totaled in today's dollars:

• Survivor benefit only: $1,430 a month from 60. Total by 85: $429,000; by 90: $514,800.
• Survivor benefit at 60, own benefit at 70: $1,430 until 70, then $2,232. Total by 85: $573,360; by 90: $707,280.
• Own benefit at 62, survivor benefit at 67: $1,260 from 62, then $2,000. Total by 85: $507,600; by 90: $627,600.

Here the survivor-first plan wins at every horizon because her own benefit at 70 is larger than the full survivor benefit. When the survivor benefit is the larger one, the order flips. If Linda's own PIA were only $1,200, her own benefit would be $840 at 62 and $1,488 at 70. Taking $840 from 62 and switching to the full $2,000 survivor benefit at 67 would total $482,400 by 85 and $602,400 by 90, ahead of the survivor benefit alone ($429,000 and $514,800) and of the survivor-first plan ($439,440 and $528,720). The calculator runs all three plans with your numbers.

Spousal benefits versus survivor benefits

People searching for a spousal benefits calculator often need this distinction. A spousal benefit is paid while the worker is alive: at most 50% of the worker's PIA at your full retirement age, reduced by 25/36 of 1% for each of the first 36 months you claim early and 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond, and never before 62 unless you care for the worker's child under 16 or disabled. A survivor benefit is paid after the worker's death: up to 100%, available from 60. With a $2,000 PIA and a spouse born in 1962 or later:

If you already receive a spousal benefit when the worker dies, SSA changes it to a survivor benefit once you report the death. If you receive your own retirement benefit, you must apply, and SSA pays a combination equal to the higher amount.

How to use this calculator and who it is for

1. The worker who died: enter the full retirement age benefit (PIA) from the worker's Social Security Statement or an SSA letter, or switch to AIME. Say whether the worker was already receiving a reduced or a delayed benefit and enter that amount.
2. Survivors: choose the type of spouse benefit, tick the box if the survivor is a divorced spouse, then set the survivor's year of birth and starting age and the number of eligible children and dependent parents.
3. Optional: enter your own PIA to compare switching strategies, and your expected 2026 earnings for the earnings test.

The calculator is meant for widows and widowers deciding when to claim, for parents of young children working out a household budget, for adult children helping a parent through the paperwork, and for couples who want to see what the surviving partner would receive before choosing when to claim their own retirement benefits. It also answers the questions that come up in estate and life insurance planning: how much income Social Security would replace, and for how long.

Key terms

• PIA: primary insurance amount, the worker's benefit at full retirement age and the base for every survivor percentage.
• Full survivor age: the age at which a widow(er) receives 100%, between 66 and 67 by year of birth; it can differ from full retirement age for your own benefit.
• Mother's or father's benefit: the 75% benefit for a surviving parent caring for the worker's child under 16 or disabled, with no age reduction.
• Widow(er)'s limit: the cap at the larger of the worker's reduced benefit or 82.5% of the PIA when the worker claimed early.
• Family maximum: the limit on all monthly benefits paid on one worker's record.
• Lump-sum death payment: the one-time $255 payment to a qualifying spouse or child.

What changes the result, and the limits of this estimate

• Work before full survivor age. In 2026, SSA withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above $24,480, or $1 for every $3 above $65,160 in the year you reach full retirement age. Earning $34,480 while receiving $1,592 a month means $5,000 withheld, about four monthly payments. Only your own benefit is affected, and months withheld from a widow(er)'s benefit are credited back at full survivor age by shrinking the reduction.
• Remarriage. Remarrying before 60 (50 if disabled) generally ends the benefit; remarrying later does not.
• Cost-of-living adjustments. Benefits rise each January with the COLA, 2.8% for 2026, so the dollar figures here grow over time.
• Government pensions. The Social Security Fairness Act repealed the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision for benefits payable from January 2024, so a public pension from work not covered by Social Security no longer reduces survivor benefits.

The estimate does not check whether the worker was insured or whether the marriage lasted long enough, and it treats your inputs as correct. For a surviving divorced spouse, tick the divorced box: that benefit is figured at the same rates but outside the family maximum. Only SSA can give the official amount, by phone or at a Social Security office.

Related calculators

• For benefits paid while a worker is disabled, use the SSDI Calculator.
• To estimate the worker's or your own retirement benefit from earnings, use the Social Security Calculator.
• To find your full retirement age for your own benefit, use the Retirement Age Calculator.
• To project future cost-of-living increases on a monthly check, use the COLA Calculator.
• To judge which switching plan fits your likely lifespan, use the Life Expectancy Calculator.
• To plan a household budget on survivor income, use the Budget Calculator.

Sources

• SSA, What you could get from Survivor benefits: 71.5% at 60 up to 100% at full survivor age, 75% for children, switching to retirement at 70, the $255 payment.
• SSA, Who can get Survivor benefits: age, nine-month marriage, remarriage, children and dependent parents.
• SSA Publication 05-10084, Survivors Benefits: rates, the family maximum range, divorced spouses, the earnings test, remarriage and the Social Security Fairness Act.
• SSA, Normal Retirement Age: the retirement age table and the rule that widows and widowers add two years to the birth year, which gives full survivor age by year of birth.
• SSA, Formula for Family Maximum Benefit: the 2026 bend points of $1,643, $2,371 and $3,093.
• SSA, Primary Insurance Amount: the 2026 PIA formula used in AIME mode.
• SSA, Exempt Amounts Under the Earnings Test: $24,480 and $65,160 for 2026.
• SSA, Benefit Reduction for Early Retirement: full retirement age and the 30% and 35% reductions at 62.
• Social Security Act, section 202: widow(er), mother's or father's, child's and parent's benefit rates, the widow(er)'s limit, delayed retirement credits and the reduction rules.
• 20 CFR 404.404 and 20 CFR 404.402: proportional reduction for the family maximum, applied before the reduction for age.
• SSA, Monthly Statistical Snapshot, August 2026: survivor beneficiaries and average benefits.