Social Security Spousal and Survivor Benefits: The Basic Eligibility Rules

Social Security isn't only for the person who earned the work credits — spouses and survivors can qualify for benefits based on someone else's earnings record, under two related but distinct sets of rules.

Spousal benefits apply while both people are alive: a spouse can receive up to 50% of their partner's full retirement benefit, generally starting at age 62, or earlier if they're caring for the worker's qualifying child. Divorced spouses aren't automatically excluded — if the marriage lasted 10 years or more, an ex-spouse is entitled to a spousal benefit on the same terms as a current spouse, and claiming it doesn't reduce what the ex-spouse who actually worked receives.

Survivor benefits kick in after a spouse has died, and the eligibility rules shift. A surviving spouse generally qualifies starting at age 60 — or age 50 if they're disabled — and must have been married to the deceased worker for at least 9 months, with limited exceptions. The deceased worker also has to have been "fully insured," meaning they earned at least 40 work credits, typically about 10 years of covered employment.

Survivor benefit amounts scale with the age you claim: they range from about 71.5% of the deceased worker's benefit if claimed at the earliest age, up to 100% if you wait until your own survivor full retirement age or later.

One practical note: unlike most Social Security applications, survivor benefits can't be filed online. You have to apply by phone or in person at a Social Security field office.