Social Security Benefits

Items on this page: Social Security Benefits for a Married Couple Social Security Benefits for a Single Person

Social Security Benefits -- Married Couple The Social Security Survivor Benefit has so many variables that it can be difficult to arrive at what the amount of monthly benefit for your family might be. The best way to find out the basic information is to get it directly from the U.S. Social Security Administration, but unfortunately, it can take many weeks to arrive, and even after you have received a personalized statement showing what your family could receive, there are still other factors that can alter the benefit. Some of those factors have to do with the surviving spouse's portion of the benefit and do not affect the children's benefit. One of them is that if the surviving spouse works, he or she will lose one dollar of benefit for every two dollars of earnings that are in excess of $9,120. The other one is that your surviving spouse will probably have to pay taxes on 85% of his or her benefit. That's not an 85% tax mind you, but rather a tax on 85% of the benefit. So, for example, if your spouse had a benefit of $800 monthly and was in the 28% tax bracket, then the tax would be $190, reducing the $800 monthly benefit to $610 monthly. Any benefit your surviving spouse does receive stops when the youngest child reaches age 16 and your spouse wouldn't be eligible for more benefits until he or she reached age 60, though benefits would be greater if your spouse waits until age 65. Benefits that a child receives stop when he or she reaches age 18, or 19 if a full-time student; unless the child is disabled, in which case the benefits would continue. The Social Security benefits that your family would receive if you pass away are based on an average of the highest earning "x" amount of years (depending on when you were born) of your whole life of earning (adjusted for wage inflation), not just the last 10 years. If there are no children under age 16, and your spouse is under age 60, then there is no benefit. With all that in mind, the following chart can help give you a general idea of what your family could receive, though, as mentioned, getting the information direct from the Social Security Administration would be more accurate. If you do use the chart to make a guess, then at least make a low, conservative guess (especially if the surviving spouse would work which could cause the benefits to be reduced) so your family won't be left short-changed, with not enough life insurance proceeds. The chart is an approximation of the monthly benefits your family might receive if you were to die in 1998. It assumes that you worked continuously and received regular pay raises as time went on. The total benefit of your spouse and/or the children can't exceed the family maximum. Wage Earner Benefit Per: Current Annual Income: $25,000 $35,000 $50,000 $60,000 $72,000+ Death at age 30 Survivor $695 $835 $1025 $1138 $1250 Maximum $1625 $2030 $2411 $2655 $2922 Death at age 40 Survivor $689 $830 $1021 $1130 $1230 Maximum $1612 $2020 $2407 $2645 $2878 Death at age 50 Survivor $686 $828 $1015 $1120 $1188 Maximum $1610 $2014 $2400 $2615 $2778 Death at age 60 Survivor $682 $802 $1005 $1070 $1115 Maximum $1602 $1986 $2390 $2500 $2610