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Social Security survivor benefits calculator
What a widow or widower gets on a late spouse’s record when starting at 60, 62, 64 or full retirement age, and whether to take the survivor benefit or your own first.
Survivor benefit at 67: $2,800 a month.
Survivor benefit at 67$2,800 a monthStarting at 62, 60 months before your survivor full retirement age of 67, pays $2,230 a month a month for life. Waiting until 67 pays $2,800 a month. Of the orders below, the one that pays the most by age 85 is your own benefit first, survivor benefit at full retirement age, $659,400 in total.
Survivor benefit by start age
| Start at | Months early | A month |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | 60 | $2,230 |
| 64 | 36 | $2,458 |
| 67 | 0 | $2,800 |
Which to take first
| Order | Paid a month | Total by 85 | Total by 90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your own benefit first, survivor benefit at full retirement age | $910 from 62, then $2,800 from 67 | $659,400 | $827,400 |
| Survivor benefit only, from the earliest age | $2,230 from 62 | $615,480 | $749,280 |
| Survivor benefit only, from full retirement age | $2,800 from 67 | $604,800 | $772,800 |
Remarrying before 60 ends it. A widow or widower who remarries before 60 cannot get the survivor benefit while that marriage lasts. Remarrying at 60 or later keeps it. Survivor benefits are claimed by phone at 1-800-772-1213 or at a Social Security office.
Calculations, not tax, legal or investment advice.
Method and sources
The survivor benefit starts from the deceased’s full-retirement-age benefit. If they waited past full retirement age, it includes their delayed credits. If they started early, it is capped at the larger of their reduced benefit and 82.5% of the full amount. Taking it before your survivor full retirement age cuts it by up to 28.5%, spread evenly over the months from 60.
When you are owed both a survivor benefit and your own, Social Security pays the larger one, not both. The orders above stay with that rule: one benefit first, then a switch when the other grows larger. Totals are in today’s dollars with no cost-of-living raises and no tax. Not modeled: the earnings test if you still work before full retirement age, survivors under 60 caring for a child or disabled, the $255 lump-sum death payment, and a survivor who already takes their own benefit, whose own amount is fixed.
Tables and sources
- 20 CFR §404.410(b) spouse's benefit reduced 25/36 of 1% for each of the first 36 months before full retirement age and 5/12 of 1% beyond; (c)(1) widow's or widower's benefit reduced by months early × .285 ÷ months from age 60 to full retirement age; reductions rounded up to the dime; (a) 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond 36; total reduction rounded to the next higher multiple of 10 cents · 2026 · www.ecfr.gov
- 20 CFR §404.411(c)(1) old-age benefit of a widow(er) born after 1/1/1928 reduced only under §404.410(a); (d) spouse's benefit when also entitled to a reduced old-age benefit: own reduction plus the §404.410 reduction of the excess over the own PIA · 2026 · www.ecfr.gov
- 20 CFR §404.407(a) another monthly benefit is reduced, not below zero, by the old-age benefit payable for the same month · 2026 · www.ecfr.gov
- 20 CFR §404.338(a) widow's or widower's benefit equals the insured's PIA; (b) increased by the insured's delayed retirement credits; (c) if the insured took old-age benefits before full retirement age, limited to the larger of the insured's reduced benefit and 82 1/2% of the PIA · 2026 · www.ecfr.gov
- 20 CFR §404.335(c) widow's or widower's benefit based on age from age 60 · 2026 · www.ecfr.gov
- 20 CFR §404.409(b) full retirement age for widow's or widower's benefits by date of birth · 2026 · www.ecfr.gov
- 20 CFR §§404.409, 404.410, 404.313 (eCFR, current)Old-age benefit: full retirement age by date of birth (§404.409(a)), reduction for months before full retirement age (§404.410(a)), delayed retirement credits to age 70 (§404.313) · 2026 · www.ecfr.gov
- 20 CFR §404.313(b) credit of 2/3 of 1% per month for births after 1/1/1943, months from full retirement age to age 70; increase rounded to the next lower multiple of 10 cents · 2026 · www.ecfr.gov
IRMAA after a spouse diesFiling single the year after, IRMAA starts at half the joint line. Form SSA-44 can ask Social Security to use the lower income.
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