Sometimes I'll include something in a column about a broader topic that I think is just a small, almost insignificant piece of the puzzle. But then that nugget ends up confusing many people, causing them to write to me for clarification.
That happened recently when I wrote about the measly $255 one-time benefit that Social Security pays when someone dies. One of the points I made in that column is that the benefit can be paid only to a spouse who was living in the same household as the deceased at the time of death.
Many readers wrote to me explaining that their spouse is living in a long-term care facility or other institution because he or she can no longer be taken care of at home. And they asked if that means they will not qualify for the death benefit when the spouse dies.
The good news is they will qualify for the death benefit. The Social Security rule book says that the “living in the same household” law will apply if the couple is apart for medical reasons and would have otherwise been living together.
I griped in that column, as I have a hundred times in the past, that the $255 “death benefit” is a joke and that it should be raised. I suggested maybe $2,500. Coincidentally, a reader, who is a Canadian citizen, wrote to tell me that the Canadian Social Security system does pay a $2,500 one-time death benefit.
Anyway, since I’m talking about benefits for a deceased person, I'll spend the rest of this column going over what to do when a spouse or relative dies.
The first issue I will cover is what to do with the final Social Security check for the deceased. I must start by making three points. First, Social Security checks are paid one month behind. So, for example, the check you get in September is the benefit payment for August.
Second, the law says you must be alive for an entire month to get a Social Security check for that month.
And third, Social Security benefits have never been prorated. People don’t like this rule because the Social Security check for the month of death must be returned. For example, let’s say Mary is a 72-year-old woman whose 78-year-old husband, Fred, dies on Sept. 28. Mary would not be due the proceeds of that September Social Security check (paid in October) even though Fred was alive for 28 days of the month.
But there is a flip side to this lack of proration rule. If Fred does die on Sept. 28, Mary would be due widow’s benefits for the whole month of September, even though she was a widow for only three days of the month.
As I’ve explained many times, the lack of proration can help out when someone first starts getting Social Security. For example, if Fred took benefits at age 66 and he turned 66 on April 30 of that year, he would have received a check for the whole month of April even though he was 66 for only one day of the month.
So when Mary’s husband dies, the Social Security check for the month of death (paid the following month) must be returned. But that’s only if she gets the check in the first place.
I added that qualifier because there is a very good chance the check won’t even show up in the person’s bank account. As you maybe have heard, there are all kinds of computer-matching operations that go on between various government agencies and banks. So if the Treasury Department learns of a person’s death in time, they won’t even issue the Social Security benefit. Or, if the check was issued, the bank will likely intercept the payment and return it to the government before it even hits their checking account. In other words, Mary usually doesn’t have to worry about returning any Social Security checks. It’s almost always done for her.
There can be a little twist to this scenario, though. For example, let’s say that your husband dies on Oct. 2. And let’s say that his Social Security check was normally sent to him on the third of each month. In other words, your husband died just before his Social Security check was deposited into his bank account. Because he was alive the whole month of September, that means he was due the money from that September check. And now you, as his widow, are due that money. Sometimes, bank officials will sort of just wink at you and let you keep the proceeds of that last Social Security check. But if they follow the letter of the law, that September Social Security benefit (paid on Oct. 3) would have to be returned to the Social Security Administration. Then it would be reissued to you in your name. (There is a form that needs to be filled out to get that to happen. You'd have to talk to an SSA rep about that.)
So far, I’ve been talking about dealing with the last Social Security check that was sent to your husband. Now let’s talk about getting any Social Security widow’s benefits that will be due. Because you said his benefit is more than yours, after he dies, your benefit will be bumped up to whatever he was getting at the time of death. For example, if he was getting $2,800 per month and you are getting $2,100, after he dies, you will start getting $700 in widow’s benefits to take your total benefits up to his $2,800 level.
You will have to contact the SSA at 800-772-1213 to set up an appointment to file a widow’s claim. (For reasons too complicated to explain in this column, widow’s claims must be filed in person.) At the same time, you will file a claim for that measly little one-time death benefit of $255 I discussed at the beginning of this column. You will probably need to provide two bits of documentation: a copy of your marriage papers and a death certificate.
There may be some women reading this column who are not getting their own Social Security but instead are getting only spousal benefits on their husbands’ accounts. If that is you, when your husband dies, no widow’s application is required. You would simply notify the SSA that your husband died, and they switch you from wife’s benefits to widow’s benefits. As part of the process, you may have to provide a copy of the death certificate. I say “may have to provide” because there is a chance that the SSA will already have some proof of death in their files. And you don’t need to provide a marriage certificate because you already did that back when you filed for spousal benefits.
Finally, let me make this point. In this column, I kept referring to a woman whose husband dies. The same rules would apply to a man whose wife dies or to a member of a same-sex couple whose partner dies.
