My Spouse Recently Died, Can I Receive Their Social Security Retirement Benefits?

There are several different circumstances when you, as the spouse, can receive your deceased spouse's Social Security retirement benefits.

Obviously a surviving spouse can either be a male or female, but more often than not the surviving spouse is a widow seeking to receive Social Security benefits on her deceased husband's earnings record.

According to Social Security:

If you are the widow or widower of a person who worked long enough under Social Security, you can:

• receive full benefits at full retirement age for survivors or reduced benefits as early as age 60.
  
  
• begin receiving benefits as early as age 50 if you are disabled.
  
  
• receive survivors benefits at any age if you take care of the deceased worker's child who is under age 16 or is disabled and receives benefits on the worker's record.