Survivors Old-Age and Disability Insurance - Survivors' Benefits

Survivors' benefits are payments made to family members when a worker dies. The payments are intended to help ease the financial strain caused by the loss of the worker's income. Survivors can receive benefits if the deceased worker was employed and contributed to Social Security long enough to be considered insured.

When a wage earner dies, his or her spouse and unmarried minor children are entitled to receive benefits. In addition to monthly checks, the worker's surviving spouse, or if there is none, another eligible person, may receive a lump-sum payment of $255.