Understand how early retirement impacts survivor benefits. Learn if your spouse's reduced Social Security at 63 will affect their future widow/widower's benefits after your death.

Learn more about Social Security survivor benefits, how to apply, and why they are crucial for estate planning. A must-read for financial advisors.

If a woman is left widowed at the age of 30 with a two-year-old son, she is entitled to collect Social Security benefits for 14 years, until his 16th birthday. After that, her son gets survivor ...

Contact the Social Security Administration (SSA): You can apply for survivor benefits by contacting the SSA either by phone at 1-800-772-1213 or by visiting your local Social Security office.

Survivor’s benefits are one of the most valuable features of the Social Security system. Their downside is that the rules and options can be so complicated that people fail to maximize the ...

If you're divorced, you can often get Social Security benefits based on your ex-spouse's work record. Know the rules about when and how you can claim.

2. How claiming age affects your survivors benefits. The Social Security Administration assigns everyone a full retirement age (FRA) based on their birth year. It's 67 for most people today ...

The earlier you start Social Security benefits — survivor, spousal or your own — the less you get. How Social Security survivor benefits work - Los Angeles Times ...

It is possible for the survivor to collect 100 percent of her deceased husband's Social Security benefits upon his death, but this does not always take place. There is a difference between ...

The survivor benefit is one of the best illustrations of how Social Security really is "social insurance." Payroll taxes paid into the program buy income protection for your spouse in case of your ...