Can You Receive Survivor Benefits If You Already Receive SSI?
Social Security provides a life insurance annuity in the form of survivor benefits. You may claim survivor benefits on the death of a spouse or ex-spouse, or possibly another close relative. Supplemental Security Income provides income based on the need for the basics of life. If you receive SSI, regulations require that you apply for other programs that you might qualify for. Apply for survivor benefits soon after the death of a spouse or relative.
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SSI
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SSI requires low income and few resources. Social Security operates SSI and will coordinate benefits with other programs, although SSI is not Social Security. If you receive SSI, you qualify for other benefits, such as food stamps, in all states except California. You may qualify for Medicaid as well. As of 2011, SSI pays $674 basic monthly benefit and some states supplement this amount.
Social Security Survivor Benefits
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Social Security bases survivor benefits on the work history of the deceased. The amount you receive is a percentage of the full-retirement-age benefit of the worker, determined by your age when you start collecting benefits and your relationship to the worker. Survivor benefits provide a monthly payment or annuity for as long as you qualify.
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Qualifying for Survivor Benefits
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You must not remarry prior to age 60, or 50 if you are disabled, to receive survivor benefits on the work history of a deceased spouse. You must be at least 60 years of age unless you are caring for a child of the deceased who is under the age of 16. If you are the spouse or ex-spouse, you may qualify for 71.5 percent of the deceased worker's full-retirement-age benefit when you are age 60 (50 if disabled) and 100 percent of the deceased worker's benefit when you are full retirement age. Individuals born between 1943 and 1954 reach full retirement age at 66.
Coordination of Benefits
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You will not receive less than the current SSI rate. If your benefit as a Social Security survivor is less than $674, you may collect both survivor benefits and SSI. For example, your survivor benefit may be $400 and your SSI benefit will be $294. Your SSI payment of $674 has earned and unearned income subtracted. Survivor benefits are unearned income, and you have $20 exempt. Income in excess of the $20 counts at 100 percent, so you would subtract $380 from the $674 to arrive at $294. You receive $20 more each month by collecting from both sources. You may also receive added benefits like Medicare and assistance in paying for Part B medical coverage or Part D prescription coverage as a Social Security recipient.
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