Social Security Survivor Benefits- The Thing Women Should Know About
When Social Security was launched back in 1935 it was usual for women to remain inside home to raise the family. In the majority of families the husband was the major earner or the only earner in the household. In addition, women statistically outlive men, especially if the wife is younger than the husband.
The coincidence of lower or no income and a longer life span implied many women noticed themselves in poverty at the time their husbands died, as their husband's Social Security retirement benefits ended at their death. The Social Security Board recognized the challenges that women face and have implemented several adjustments to the system over the years to account for these requirements.
One important amendments to the Social Security plan was to permit women to apply for benefits at 62 instead of waiting until 65 under the assumption that they were younger than their husbands and that they would want to retire simultaneously.
Then in 1939 two other categories of benefits were included: Social Security survivor benefits and dependent benefits (to be paid to the spouse and minor kids of retired employees).
These changes transformed Social Security from a retirement program that only paid benefits to retired workers into a family-based system, where spouses and children are able to receive benefits of retired, disabled or departed workers. This was an enormous help to women who were not eligible for retirement benefits on their own, or who had considerably smaller benefits than their spouses.
Today, although it's not uncommon for women to earn as much or more than their spouses, they however may take time off to look after families, and they still typically live longer than their spouses. Similarly, the number of divorced women attaining retirement age is greater than it has ever been. Because of this, many women still get Social Security spousal benefits or survivor benefits rather than benefits depending on their own job period.
So it's important for women - no matter what their marital status is - to understand the spousal and survivor benefits open to them as well as the retirement benefits so they can enjoy the optimum benefits they are eligible to.
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