Social Security Survivor Benefit Calculator

Estimate your US Social Security survivor (widow/widower) benefit for free. Enter the deceased worker's income and claiming status along with the survivor's birth year and planned claiming age to see the estimated monthly survivor benefit.

How this calculator works

US Social Security pays a survivor benefit to the spouse of a deceased worker. Survivors can start claiming as early as age 60, but claiming before their own Full Retirement Age (FRA) reduces the benefit on a sliding scale from 71.5% to 100%. The basis this percentage applies to depends on whether the deceased worker had already started claiming their own benefit.

If the worker died before claiming, the basis is simply their Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), plus any delayed retirement credit if they lived past their own FRA without filing. If instead they had already claimed a reduced benefit before their own FRA, the basis is the greater of their actual reduced benefit and 82.5% of their PIA (the Widow(er)'s Limit). This tool accounts for all three scenarios to estimate the survivor's monthly amount.

How to use it

Enter the deceased worker's annual income Used to calculate the PIA the survivor benefit is based on.
Enter the deceased worker's birth year Determines their Full Retirement Age (FRA), which affects the benefit basis.
Choose their claiming status Select whether they had already claimed before their own FRA, or hadn't claimed yet (or claimed at/after FRA).
Enter the survivor's birth year and planned claiming age Sets the survivor's own FRA and the reduction percentage applied between ages 60 and FRA.
Compare the age-by-age table A table for ages 60-67 appears below the result so you can compare every claiming option at a glance.

Tips for getting more out of it

The survivor benefit basis depends on the deceased worker's own claiming status, so its reduction and increase rules differ from the spousal benefit.
Even if the deceased worker had already claimed a reduced benefit before their own FRA, the survivor benefit basis is guaranteed to be at least 82.5% of their PIA (the Widow(er)'s Limit).
Delaying the survivor's own claim past their own FRA does not increase the survivor benefit further — it only reduces on a sliding scale between age 60 and FRA, with no delayed retirement credit.
If the survivor has enough of their own work history that their own retirement benefit is higher, that benefit applies instead of the survivor benefit (this tool only estimates the survivor benefit itself).
The deceased worker's own estimated benefit can be checked with the companion "Social Security Retirement Benefit Calculator" tool.

When to use this

Planning finances after losing a spouse

Get an estimated survivor benefit amount to factor into your future budget.

Deciding when to start the survivor benefit

Compare claiming as early as 60 versus waiting until FRA using the age-by-age table.

Comparing outcomes by the deceased worker's claiming status

See how the benefit basis changes depending on whether the worker had already claimed.

Preparing for a financial planning conversation

Get a rough survivor benefit estimate before formally filing a claim with the SSA.

Glossary

Survivor Benefit: A benefit paid to the spouse of a deceased worker, based on that worker's Social Security earnings record.
Widow(er)'s Limit: An SSA rule guaranteeing the survivor benefit basis is at least 82.5% of the deceased worker's PIA, even if they had claimed a reduced benefit before their own FRA.
PIA (Primary Insurance Amount): The monthly benefit a worker receives if they claim exactly at their Full Retirement Age.
Full Retirement Age (FRA): The age at which a worker receives 100% of their PIA, set between 66 and 67 depending on birth year.
Early-claiming reduction: A permanent reduction applied when the survivor benefit is claimed between age 60 and the survivor's own FRA.
Wage Base: The maximum annual earnings counted toward Social Security taxes and benefits ($184,500 for 2026).

Frequently asked questions

It depends on the deceased worker's claiming status. A survivor claiming at their own FRA gets 100% of the basis; claiming as early as 60 gets roughly 71.5%.

The basis becomes the greater of their actual reduced benefit and 82.5% of their PIA (the Widow(er)'s Limit), so the survivor benefit doesn't fall too low.

No. The reduction only applies between age 60 and your own FRA — there's no delayed retirement credit for waiting past FRA, unlike a worker's own retirement benefit.

SSA effectively pays whichever is higher — the survivor's own retirement benefit or the survivor benefit. This tool estimates only the survivor benefit.

No. Since it can't access SSA earnings records, it uses current annual income as a simplified stand-in for a 35-year average. Check ssa.gov for your official estimate.

Why the survivor benefit exists

The survivor benefit was introduced in the same 1939 amendments to the Social Security Act that created the spousal benefit. At the time, one spouse commonly supported the household for life, so the program let a surviving spouse inherit the deceased worker's benefit rights rather than lose income entirely when the earner died.

The Widow(er)'s Limit was added in a 1972 amendment. Before then, if a deceased worker had claimed a much-reduced early benefit, the survivor benefit would be reduced right along with it. Setting an 82.5% floor keeps the deceased worker's own claiming decision from excessively undermining the survivor's financial protection.

Like the spousal benefit, the survivor benefit has no delayed retirement credit past FRA because it was designed as household-level income support rather than a reward for the recipient's own work. The deceased worker's own benefit could grow through delayed claiming, but the survivor benefit is capped at 100% of the basis once the survivor reaches their own FRA — an asymmetry that reflects the program's original purpose.

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