What Are Widow’s Benefits and Who Qualifies? Social Security and VA

Widow’s benefits are payments a surviving spouse can receive after a husband or wife dies, and they come from several separate federal and state programs rather than a single source. The main ones are Social Security survivor benefits, Department of Veterans Affairs compensation and pension programs, workers’ compensation death benefits when the death was job-related, and the deceased’s employer-sponsored retirement plan. Each program has its own eligibility rules, its own dollar amounts, and its own deadlines, and you may qualify for more than one at the same time.

Social Security Survivor Benefits

Social Security pays a monthly benefit to a surviving spouse based on the deceased worker’s earnings record. The general rule is that you must have been married to the worker for at least nine months before the death.¹ Exceptions apply when the death was accidental or occurred while the spouse was on active military duty.²

You can claim as early as age 60, or at 50 if you have a qualifying disability. If you are caring for the deceased’s child who is under 16 or disabled, you can receive benefits at any age.¹

Remarriage before age 60 ends your eligibility on the deceased spouse’s record. Remarry at 60 or later (or 50 or later with a disability) and your survivor benefit continues unaffected.²

How Much You Receive

Waiting until your full retirement age for survivor benefits gets you 100% of the deceased worker’s primary insurance amount. Full retirement age for survivor benefits falls between 66 and 67 depending on your birth year, and it is not always the same as the full retirement age used for your own retirement benefit.³ Claiming between 60 and full retirement age reduces the payment, and the reduction can bring the benefit as low as 71.5% of the full amount.²

Divorced Widows

A divorced surviving spouse can still qualify if the marriage lasted at least 10 years. The same age rules apply, and you must not have remarried before age 60 (or 50 if disabled).¹ A benefit paid to a divorced widow does not reduce what other survivors on the same record can receive.

The $255 Lump-Sum Death Payment

Social Security also pays a one-time $255 death payment to a surviving spouse who was living with the worker at the time of death. If there is no eligible spouse, certain children may qualify. You must apply within two years of the death.⁴

Choosing Between Your Own Benefit and the Survivor Benefit

Survivor benefits are not subject to the deemed filing rules that apply to spousal benefits. That means you can take a survivor benefit as early as 60 while letting your own retirement benefit grow until age 70, or take a reduced retirement benefit at 62 and switch to a larger survivor benefit at full retirement age.⁵ You receive the higher of the two amounts, not both combined, so the right sequence depends on which benefit will end up larger.

Working While Collecting

If you claim before full retirement age and keep working, part of your benefit may be temporarily withheld. In 2026, Social Security withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above $24,480. In the year you reach full retirement age, the withholding drops to $1 for every $3 earned above $65,160, counting only earnings before the month you reach full retirement age.⁶ After full retirement age, there is no earnings limit.

VA Benefits for Surviving Military Spouses

The VA runs two separate programs for widows of service members and veterans: Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) and the Survivors Pension. Both are tax-free.⁷

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation

DIC is paid to a surviving spouse when the service member died on active duty or when a veteran died from a service-connected condition. The base rate for a surviving spouse in 2026 is $1,699.36 per month, effective December 1, 2025.⁸

Additional amounts may apply:

An extra $360.85 per month if the veteran had a totally disabling VA rating for at least eight continuous years before death and you were married during that same period.
An extra $421.00 per month if you have a disability requiring aid and attendance with daily activities.
An extra $197.22 per month if a disability keeps you housebound.
$359.00 per dependent child as a transitional benefit for the first two years after death, plus $421.00 per eligible child ongoing.

If the retired service member had enrolled in the military’s Survivor Benefit Plan, you can now collect SBP and DIC in full. The offset that used to reduce SBP by the DIC amount was fully eliminated on January 1, 2023.⁸

Survivors Pension

The Survivors Pension is a needs-based benefit for low-income surviving spouses of wartime veterans. The death does not have to be service-connected, but the veteran must have served at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a covered wartime period and received a discharge that was not dishonorable.⁹ Veterans who entered active duty after September 7, 1980 generally must have served at least 24 months.¹⁰

Your yearly family income and net worth must fall below limits set by Congress. For 2026, a surviving spouse with no dependents can receive up to $11,699 per year, and the net worth limit is $163,699. Your home, personal vehicle, and most furnishings are excluded from the net worth calculation.⁹ If you qualify for both DIC and the Survivors Pension, the VA pays whichever is higher. You cannot receive both.⁸

Workers’ Compensation Death Benefits

When a spouse’s death results from a workplace accident or occupational disease, the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance pays death benefits to the surviving spouse. The standard payment is a weekly amount equal to roughly two-thirds of the deceased worker’s average weekly wages, subject to a maximum cap tied to the state’s average wage. These benefits are fully exempt from federal income tax.¹¹

Workers’ compensation is run by the states, so payment amounts, duration, and remarriage rules vary. In many states, payments continue for a set number of years or until the surviving spouse remarries, and some states pay a lump sum on remarriage. Under the federal system for federal employees, a surviving spouse who remarries before age 55 receives a lump sum equal to 24 months of compensation, while remarriage at 55 or older does not affect ongoing payments.¹² Funeral and burial expenses are typically covered as part of the death benefit. Most states set a filing deadline of two to three years from the worker’s death.

Employer Retirement Plans

Federal law gives a surviving spouse strong rights in the deceased’s employer-sponsored retirement plan. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the default payment method for a traditional pension is a qualified joint and survivor annuity, which continues paying the surviving spouse at least 50% of the benefit for life.¹³ If the employee dies before retirement age, a qualified preretirement survivor annuity ensures the surviving spouse still receives a portion of the vested benefits. For 401(k) plans and other defined contribution accounts, the surviving spouse is automatically the beneficiary of the account balance.

A spouse cannot be removed as the primary beneficiary without providing written consent that acknowledges the effect of the change and is witnessed by a plan representative or notary public.¹⁴ Without that signed waiver, the plan must pay the surviving spouse even if a will names someone else.

Health Coverage After a Spouse’s Death

Losing a spouse often means losing health insurance. A few options exist depending on who your spouse was.

Surviving spouses of veterans who died from a service-connected disability, or who were permanently and totally disabled at death, may qualify for CHAMPVA. The plan has a $50 annual deductible per person ($100 per family), a 25% cost-sharing requirement, and a $3,000 annual out-of-pocket cap. Divorce from the qualifying veteran ends eligibility.¹⁵

Surviving spouses of active duty, reserve, or retired military members can keep TRICARE coverage, which continues until remarriage.¹⁶ If your spouse had employer-sponsored health insurance, COBRA allows you to continue that coverage for up to 36 months, though you pay the full premium.¹⁷

How to Apply

Every program will ask for documents proving who you are and what your relationship was to the deceased. Gather these before you file:

A certified death certificate
Your marriage certificate
Social Security numbers for you and your spouse
Your birth certificate or other proof of birth
Bank routing and account information for direct deposit
The veteran’s DD-214 or equivalent service records, for VA claims
Income and net worth details, for needs-based programs like the Survivors Pension

For Social Security, you can apply in person, by phone, or online using Form SSA-10.¹⁸ Don’t forget the two-year deadline for the $255 lump-sum death payment.⁴

For DIC or the Survivors Pension, surviving spouses of veterans file VA Form 21P-534EZ. Surviving spouses of service members who died on active duty use VA Form 21P-534a. You can submit either online through the VA’s QuickSubmit tool, mail it to the VA Pension Intake Center, or file in person at a regional office. Veterans Service Organizations can help you prepare the claim.⁷ As of early 2026, the VA’s average processing time for disability-related claims is about 85 days, and survivor claims can take longer if more evidence is needed.¹⁹

If Your Claim Is Denied

A denied Social Security survivor claim can be appealed through four levels: reconsideration by a different SSA employee, a hearing before an administrative law judge, review by the SSA’s Appeals Council, and finally a lawsuit in federal district court. You generally have 60 days from receipt of the denial notice to file at each level. The SSA assumes you received the notice five days after the date on the letter, making the effective deadline 65 days from that date.²⁰ Miss the deadline and the last decision becomes final. VA claims have their own separate appeals process with different deadlines and procedures, which will be described in the denial notice.

1
Social Security Administration. Who Can Get Survivor Benefits
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 402 – Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Benefit Payments
3
Social Security Administration. See Your Full Retirement Age for Survivor Benefits
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Social Security Administration. Lump-Sum Death Payment
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Social Security Administration. Filing Rules for Retirement and Spouses Benefits
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Social Security Administration. How Work Affects Your Benefits
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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. About VA DIC for Spouses, Dependents, and Parents
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Veterans Affairs. Current DIC Rates for Spouses and Dependents
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Veterans Affairs. Survivors Pension
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Veterans Benefits Administration. VA Survivors Pension Benefit
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Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 – Taxable and Nontaxable Income
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eCFR. Subpart E – Compensation and Related Benefits
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U.S. Department of Labor. FAQs About Retirement Plans and ERISA
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 1055 – Requirement of Joint and Survivor Annuity and Preretirement Survivor Annuity
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Veterans Affairs. Getting Care Through CHAMPVA
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TRICARE. Survivors
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Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. COBRA Continuation Coverage Questions and Answers
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Social Security Administration. Form SSA-10 – Information You Need to Apply for Widows, Widowers or Surviving Divorced Spouses Benefits
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Veterans Affairs. The VA Claim Process After You File Your Claim
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Social Security Administration. Your Right to Question the Decision Made on Your Claim