Can Social Security Benefits Help You, Your Spouse, and Your Kids After One Parent Passes?

Social Security Survivors Benefits for kids and Adults

Social security retirement can be used for your minor kids if a parent passes and qualified for social security. To qualify for social security retirement in the United States, you must work 40 quarters. It is called survivor benefits when a qualifying parent dies, it can be used by a spouse and the minor kids.

Immediately after a parent passes away, you can go to your local social security office and apply for survivor benefits for you and your kids. This applies even if you are not 62, but your spouse is qualified for social security retirement. You will get a check for each child under 18 or 16, whichever you choose. In some cases a minor child can get a payout if a parent is on disability.

Social Security retirement seems a long way off for many of us while others find themselves counting the days before the first check arrives. It doesn’t matter what your time horizon is, what’s important is that you remain current with the laws. If you have a parent or grandparent nearing retirement, share this article with them. Use this budget planner to manage while you decide.

Before you bother to get social security facts, understand the facts change periodically. Because of this, many retirees do not file for social security benefits in a timely manner. Some retirees file for social security retirement too soon, and others too late. The main culprit is simply, a lack of knowledge, of the current social security laws. Knowing when to file and take payments is crucial. If you take payments too soon, you could lose a lot of money if you live long.

A recent new law states; that if you are 66-68 years old, you can collect full social security benefits and also hold a job. The full retirement age depends on the year you were born (see ssa.gov). This is important since many seniors are fully capable of working at age 66, and have the desire. Also, many seniors need the income to supplement their social security benefits if it’s too low for the cost of living. Social security is designed to be a supplement to an additional retirement account.

Contact me directly to discuss comprehensive finances for you!

UNDERSTAND WHEN TO TAKE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS

There is a choice when it comes to accepting your social security retirement benefits.  The longer you wait to take your monthly benefits, the more money you will get per month.

You have three options for taking your social security benefits: Option 1 – you can start your benefits at 62 and (I will use this dollar amount for illustration purposes only) say it will be $1,191. Option 2 — if you wait until age 66 (full retirement age) that same benefit for life would be $1,579. Option 3 — If you wait to take that same social security retirement at 70 you will get $2,085. an almost $1000 more per month over option 1.

Once you take your option, it will not change, in other words, you cannot change your mind at a later date and get more money. To help in your decision, calculate the amount of money you will lose in payments for the years you do not take payments.

The amount you decide to take is permanent so if you wait, you will get more, you will permanently get $2,085.00 per month, but if you take your payment at 62, you will permanently get only $1,191.00, almost $1,000.00 less per month. The permanent amount can not be changed.

For family social security survivors benefits, from a deceased spouse with minor children, the money can be taken as soon as a spouse dies and the children are under age for social security survivors benefits.

CALCULATE SOCIAL SECURITY FUNDS LOST WHEN TAKEN AT 66 INSTEAD OF 70

Say you take your social security retirement payout at age 66, not age 70.  How much could you gain between age 66 to 70? So, you start getting benefits at 66, what would you get until age 70?
Your social security check is 1500 per month at age 66.
From 66-70=4 years x 12months=48months x 1500.=$72,000.

This is the amount of money given from 66 to 70 by taking option 2.
So, if you don’t wait for age 70, and you don’t need the money, you can take it at age 66 and save it in
a great mutual fund. That will help with catching up if you took the funds before 70.
A lot of folks are not living to 70 or are sick so they prefer to take the social security funds early and
save them.

AN EXAMPLE OF A SOCIAL SECURITY RETIREMENT PAYOUT

This is only one of many examples of a social security retirement payout. A payout is dependent on the income you generate and pay in taxes when you work. The more you make during your lifetime, the higher your benefits will be.

There are some women who never work outside the home, and their husband divorces them. If she does not secure divorced retirement social security benefits, she could end up with almost nothing in social security or medicare benefits as a divorced woman.

When she is married for a minimum number of required years and secures retirement benefits in her divorce agreement, she could still get benefits from an x-husband who is married to someone else.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW HOW SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS ARE COLLECTED

• FICA (social security tax)  is taken from your paycheck when you are an employee. It is the social security tax used to pay your portion of the social security retirement fund.
• When you are self-employed, you pay FICA in your quarterly or year-end social security retirement taxes.
• You can and should get a yearly copy of your social security payment history from social security. This will verify that you were properly credited with past social security taxes. This is especially important if you are self-employed, and do not file taxes by the federal tax deadline.

KEEP UP WITH SOCIAL SECURITY RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY SURVIVOR BENEFITS

• If you wait until after the federal tax deadline to pay your taxes, you will have to manually notify the Internal Revenue Service that you paid your fair share of Social Security taxes via FICA.
• Remain informed of the social security benefits you can receive at a particular retirement age.
• Accepting your social security benefits just a few years earlier than full retirement age may mean a significant, permanent reduction, in lifetime benefit payments.
• The government recommends you use social security retirement benefits as a supplement to your retirement, not as a primary retirement source. Unfortunately, many of you have not taken this advice and will need to work during retirement to have enough money to live.
• Sometimes survivors’ benefits are not collected because many don’t know they exist.

HOW TO SUPPLEMENT YOUR RETIREMENT WHEN YOU ARE WORKING

You can fund an IRA(individual retirement account), Roth IRAs, 401k or a 403B retirement account. You can open an account at an investment bank or local bank and pay into your personal individual retirement account on a monthly basis. A small amount goes a long way over the years.

Have the money automatically deducted from your paycheck or checking account and you will not miss it. Understand how to choose and set up an Individual Retirement Account here. Some of you may have a pension that will work with your social security benefits, in that case, social security will calculate the amount you can get from social security.

RELATED LINKS:

• Get 8 Personal finance eBooks for free with my Course
• Let’s Discuss Your Personal Budget Plan For Now and Retirement
• Know the facts when it comes to your social security estimation of benefits
• You can estimate your future retirement benefits at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator
• You can apply for social security retirement, spouse’s benefits, minor child’s survivor benefits, medicare, or disability benefits at www.socialsecurity.gov/applyforbenefits
• And once you receive benefits, manage benefits at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount
• Apply for benefits for your underage kids if a spouse dies, it is called survivors benefits for a spouse or underage child at social security survivors benefits.

Let’s Discover Your Top Finances Now!