What survivor benefits can a widow get?

There may be several, from different offices: a Social Security survivor benefit on his record, a survivor annuity from a traditional pension, Office of Personnel Management survivor benefits for federal civilian retirement, the military Survivor Benefit Plan, and the VA Survivors Pension for surviving spouses of wartime veterans who meet income limits. Each is separate and each has to be applied for.

If my husband dies, can I get his Social Security?

A surviving spouse may be able to receive a survivor benefit on his record. What it comes to depends on his work record, your age when you start, and your own benefit. Sometimes one benefit can be taken first and the other later. Ask Social Security for the figures at more than one starting age, in writing, before choosing.

Survivor benefits after a husband dies

Q: Can I work while receiving survivor benefits?

Yes, but below full retirement age earnings above a yearly limit can reduce the benefit. Money held back is generally made up once you reach full retirement age, and after that month earnings no longer reduce it. The limit changes each year, so ask Social Security what it is now.

Start by expecting more than one

Survivor benefits are not a single thing. Social Security has one. A pension can have another. Federal or military service can have a third, and the VA a fourth.

Each is run by a different office, and none of them tells the others. Each has to be asked for.

So the first job is not choosing. It is finding out which ones exist in your case, and what each one would pay. Where to begin is in Where do I stand right now?

What a survivor benefit on his record comes to depends on his work record, your age when you start, and your own benefit if you have one.

Sometimes you can take one benefit first and switch to the other later. Starting before your full retirement age for survivor benefits can reduce the monthly amount, and that age can fall a little earlier than the one for your own retirement benefit.

If he had already claimed early, a survivor benefit can come to less than his full amount.

None of that tells you when to start, because the answer depends on figures only Social Security can give you. Ask for them at more than one age, in writing. The chapter that owns this is What happens with Social Security?

If he had a pension

In a traditional pension, a married participant’s payment normally includes a survivor benefit unless both of you chose otherwise. Giving it up needed his written waiver and your written consent, witnessed by a notary or a plan representative.

If he was vested and died before he retired, the plan generally has to pay you a survivor annuity for life, unless you both waived it in writing.

Most 401(k) plans follow different rules. Ask the plan administrator in writing for the summary plan description, which explains the survivor benefit. There may be a copying fee. More in Will his pension keep paying, and what about his service?

If he worked for the federal government or served

Federal civilian retirement: report the death to the Office of Personnel Management at rsreporting.opm.gov or 1-888-767-6738. OPM sends the survivor application, and does not accept a pending death certificate.
Military retired pay: if he enrolled in the Survivor Benefit Plan, you may receive a monthly payment for life. Report the death to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service at 1-800-321-1080. Any retired pay for a period after the date of death has to be returned.
VA Survivors Pension: monthly payments to surviving spouses of wartime veterans who meet income and net-worth limits and have not remarried. The home and the car don’t count toward net worth. The current limits change each year.

What to ask, and how

Ask each office what benefit exists on his record, and what it would pay.
Ask Social Security for the figures at more than one starting age.
Ask for all of it in writing, and keep the letters together.
Ask what a decision would close off, and whether it can be changed later.
Write down who you spoke to, and the date.

Then take the figures to someone who answers to you, not to a product. A survivor benefit is also paid for a limited stretch of time before you apply, so the date you apply can matter.

If you remarry, or think you might

It depends on the benefit, and on your age on the day you marry.

For Social Security, remarrying before 60, or before 50 with a disability, usually stops a survivor benefit on his record, and it can restart if that later marriage ends. Remarrying at 60 or later does not stop it. At 62 or older you may be able to take benefits on the new spouse’s record if they are higher.

Other benefits have their own rules, and for some of them living together can count. Ask each office what would change, in writing, before the day. The chapter on this is If it gets serious, what happens to the money?

If you are working, or thinking about it

Below your full retirement age, earnings above a yearly limit can reduce a survivor benefit. Money held back is generally made up once you reach full retirement age, and from that month on earnings don’t reduce it.

The limit changes every year, so ask Social Security what it is now and how your own earnings would be counted. More in Should I go back to work, or start something?

Where this comes from

This is an independent guide from the publisher of The Widow’s Guide. It is not a government site and is not connected to the Social Security Administration. Checked October 2026 against ssa.gov. Rules change, so check anything you rely on with Social Security itself.

Book 2, The Money, covers all of this a chapter at a time: what stopped, what continues, what may start, and what to ask. The free checklist for the first two weeks comes before any of it.