Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Surviving spouse benefit (after family max)
$1,716
Per-child benefit (after family max)
$1,800
Total for all children combined
$1,800
Family maximum benefit
$4,200
Uncapped total before family max applied
$3,516
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How to use this
- 1Enter deceased worker's pia ($).
- 2Enter surviving spouse's claiming age.
- 3Enter number of eligible children.
- 4Enter family maximum as % of pia (%).
- 5Read your surviving spouse benefit (after family max) on the right — it updates as you type.
- 6Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Social Security survivor benefits pay a percentage of the deceased worker's primary insurance amount (PIA) to eligible widows, widowers, and children. A surviving spouse at full retirement age can receive 100% of the deceased's PIA (or the deceased's actual benefit if they had already claimed and it was higher due to delayed credits, or lower due to early claiming); claiming as early as age 60 reduces this to about 71.5%. Surviving children under 18 (or 19 if still in high school, or disabled before 22) each generally receive 75% of the deceased's PIA, subject to a family maximum that caps the total paid to all survivors combined, typically 150-180% of the worker's PIA. This calculator estimates the surviving spouse benefit at various claiming ages and a per-child benefit, checked against a simplified family maximum, since large families often see individual benefits proportionally reduced once the cap is hit.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Deceased worker's PIA: 2400 $
- Surviving spouse's claiming age: 60
- Number of eligible children: 1
- Family maximum as % of PIA: 175 %
Results
- Surviving spouse benefit (after family max): $1,716
- Per-child benefit (after family max): $1,800
- Total for all children combined: $1,800
- Family maximum benefit: $4,200
- Uncapped total before family max applied: $3,516
What each field means
Inputs
- Deceased worker's PIA ($)
- The deceased worker's pia used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 2400 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Surviving spouse's claiming age
- The surviving spouse's claiming age used in the calculation. Starts at 60 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 60–67.
- Number of eligible children
- The number of eligible children used in the calculation. Starts at 1 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–6.
- Family maximum as % of PIA (%)
- The family maximum as % of pia used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 175 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 100–188 %.
Results
- Surviving spouse benefit (after family max)
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Per-child benefit (after family max)
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total for all children combined
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Family maximum benefit
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Uncapped total before family max applied
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why is 60 the earliest a widow(er) can claim?
Regular retirement benefits can't start before 62, but survivor benefits have a separate, earlier eligibility age of 60 (age 50 if disabled) specifically because losing a spouse's income is treated as more urgent than voluntary early retirement, though claiming that early still comes with a permanent reduction similar in spirit to early retirement reductions.
Can a surviving spouse switch between survivor and their own retirement benefit later?
Yes, this is a valuable and often underused strategy — a surviving spouse can claim a reduced survivor benefit early, then switch to their own retirement benefit later if it grows larger by delaying it to age 70, or vice versa, claiming their own benefit first and switching to a survivor benefit later, taking whichever sequencing produces more lifetime income.
What happens when the family maximum is hit?
SSA proportionally reduces each dependent/survivor's individual benefit (not the worker's own benefit if living, or the base survivor calculation) so the combined total doesn't exceed the family maximum, which typically runs 150-188% of the worker's PIA depending on their earnings level, meaning larger families with several eligible children see each benefit trimmed down.
Do remarrying widows lose survivor benefits?
Remarriage before age 60 (or age 50 if disabled) generally ends eligibility for survivor benefits on the prior spouse's record, but remarrying at 60 or later does not affect survivor benefit eligibility, which is a specific and often surprising exception in the rules.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Social Security Survivor Benefit Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/social-security-survivor-benefit
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/social-security-survivor-benefit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Social Security Survivor Benefit Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Social Security Survivor Benefit Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/social-security-survivor-benefit) (2026).