But no one needs to have earned more than 40 Social Security credits -- 10 years of work for most people -- for a surviving spouse to claim widowers or widows benefits.

Remarried widow’s Social Security benefits: how the rules changed over the years . Originally, widows and widowers lost their eligibility for survivor benefits if they remarried, regardless of ...

You can start receiving Social Security widow benefits from age 60 onward. However, widows and widowers only receive the full 100% once they have reached retirement age.

Unfortunately, as a widow or widower, money is often one of the most important things to think about. And Social Security benefits are usually one of the first — and trickiest — financial ...

Social Security will give you whichever benefit is larger, but you won't get to collect both. Two examples of how survivor benefits work Because this topic can get so confusing, let's look at two ...

Social Security may be one of your largest assets. What and when you collect will make a huge difference to your lifetime benefits. Hi, My husband went in to apply for his Social Security benefits ...

Social Security Strategies: Widow's Benefit. By Larry Swedroe. Updated on: August 30, 2011 / 4:16 PM EDT / MoneyWatch Q: I'm a 57-year-old widow ...

Spousal, ex-spouse and widow's benefits are especially beneficial to women, who tend to take more time outside the workplace to care for children or elderly parents.According to the National ...

She isn’t due higher benefits on her own Social Security record. If her ex-husband is deceased, essentially the same eligibility rules would apply, except that she could get benefits as early as 60.

Image source: Social Security Administration. Social Security provides vital retirement benefits for workers after their careers end. But the program goes beyond helping just workers by offering ...

Image source: Social Security Administration. Social Security provides vital retirement benefits for workers after their careers end. But the program goes beyond helping just workers by offering ...