Can I Get Disabled Widow's Benefits?

If your spouse dies after working long enough to be eligible for Social Security retirement benefits or Social Security disability insurance (SSDI), you might qualify for survivor benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). To qualify for these widow/widower benefits, you must have been married for at least 9 months and be at least 60 years old.

But if you're disabled, you can qualify for "disabled widow(er)'s benefits" as early as age 50.

What Are Disabled Widow Benefits?

The disabled widow(er)'s benefit (DWB) is a type of Social Security survivor benefit that's available to an older, disabled spouse whose insured spouse has died. To be insured, your deceased husband or wife must have worked long enough to be eligible to receive Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) or retirement benefits at the time of death.

In 2024, the average disabled widow's monthly benefit is about $900.

How Do You Qualify for Disabled Widows' Benefits?

Not every disabled widow or widower will qualify for these special Social Security survivor benefits. You must meet Social Security's definition of disabled—that is, you have an impairment that prevents you from working full-time for at least a year. And you must have become disabled before your spouse died or within seven years of your spouse's death.

If you qualify for the SSDI widow's benefit, you can get Medicare coverage starting two years after you become entitled to SSDI payments.

What Happens to Disabled Widow Benefits at Age 60?

You're only eligible for disabled widow's benefits if you're between 50 and 59 years old. Those age 60 and older can apply for Social Security "aged widows' benefits."

Once you turn 60, your widow's disability benefits automatically convert to aged widows' insurance benefits (WIB).

How Are Disabled Widow's Benefits Calculated?

How much your disabled widow(er) benefits will be depends on several factors, including the following:

• how old you are when you apply for disabled widow's benefits
• your deceased spouse's primary insurance amount (PIA), and
• whether your spouse was collecting reduced Social Security benefits (early retirement).

If you claimed widow's benefits at full retirement age, you'd be entitled to 100% of your deceased spouse's PIA (the Social Security benefit amount your spouse would receive at full retirement age). But because you can only claim disabled widow's benefits before you reach full retirement age, the benefit amount is reduced.

If you're 50 to 60 years old when you claim disabled widow's benefits, your monthly DWB will be 28.5% less than your spouse's PIA (or 71.5% of what your spouse was receiving or entitled to receive). So, for example, if you're spouse was receiving $3,000 per month in SSDI or retirement benefits, your monthly disabled widow's benefit would be 71.5% of $3,000, or $2,145.

Collecting disabled widow(er) benefits before age 60 permanently reduces your spousal retirement (survivor) benefits—even after you reach full retirement age. But you can switch to Social Security retirement benefits based on your own work record (any time after age 62) if that increases your monthly payments.

What Can Reduce Your Disabled Widow Benefits?

Your benefits will be less if your spouse was collecting early retirement benefits before dying. That's because your disabled widow's benefit calculation is based on the benefit amount your deceased spouse was receiving—which could be up to 30% less than the full retirement amount.

Your disabled widow's benefits could also be reduced if the total amount of Social Security paid to your deceased spouse's family exceeds the maximum family benefit amount (generally 150-180% of your spouse's PIA). Social Security reduces the survivor benefits when family benefits total more than that, with a few exceptions.

In addition, widow's benefits can be reduced if you work before you reach full retirement age. If you earn over $22,320 a year (in 2024), Social Security will reduce your monthly benefits by $1 for every $2 you earn. However, disabled widows who work over that threshold amount could lose their benefits because of working too much, so the reduction shouldn't be a problem for someone receiving DWB.

But people without disabilities who are receiving aged widow's benefits will have their benefits reduced if they work over that threshold amount. (Any reduction to your widow's benefits due to working, however, is added back through adjustments to your payment amount after you reach full retirement age.)

Can You Get Disabled Widow Benefits Back Pay?

Social Security will pay you benefits starting with the month after you first became entitled to receive disabled widow's benefits. And because it generally takes Social Security several months or more to approve a benefit application, most who qualify for disabled widow benefits are entitled to back payments.

How much back pay you'll receive depends on several factors, including:

• your application date
• your disability onset date
• the five-month waiting period after your onset date (when you're not entitled to benefits)
• your age (you can't get back pay for the months before you turned 50), and
• the date your spouse died (you can't get disabled widow's benefits for any months before your spouse's death).

Social Security could pay you back payments for up to 12 months before your application date (if you were disabled and otherwise eligible for benefits at least 17 months before you applied, because of the five-month waiting period). Your back pay will also cover the months you waited for Social Security to approve your claim—once the five-month waiting period is over.

(Learn more about how Social Security calculates back pay.)

How to Apply for Social Security Widow's Benefits

Social Security doesn't offer an online application for disabled widow(er)'s benefits. Instead, you must apply for disabled widow's benefits by phone or in person.

To apply by phone, call 800-772-1213 (TTY 800-325-0778). You may be given a phone appointment time to apply. Representatives are available Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. local time.

You can also file your application at your local Social Security office. Although an appointment isn't required, scheduling one can help reduce your wait time.

_{Updated April 24, 2024}