Can I Work and Receive Survivor Benefits?

Social Security survivor benefits provide a financial safety net for families after a loved one’s passing. These benefits are a crucial source of income, helping beneficiaries manage financial needs. Many recipients wonder if they can work while receiving these benefits. Understanding how earned income affects survivor benefits is important for financial planning.

Basics of Survivor Benefits and Working

Social Security survivor benefits are paid to eligible family members of a deceased worker who earned enough Social Security credits. This can include spouses, divorced spouses, children, and dependent parents. These benefits are designed to replace a portion of the deceased worker’s earnings. While receiving survivor benefits, engaging in employment is generally permissible. However, the amount of earned income can directly influence the benefit payments received.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) implements an “earnings test” to determine if benefits should be reduced for individuals who are working while receiving Social Security payments and are under their full retirement age. This earnings test applies to survivor beneficiaries, including widows, widowers, and minor children, if they are under their full retirement age.

Earnings Limits and Benefit Withholding

For individuals receiving survivor benefits who are under their full retirement age, specific annual earnings limits apply. If your earnings exceed these limits, your benefits may be reduced. In 2025, if you are under full retirement age for the entire year, the annual earnings limit is $23,400. For every $2 earned above this limit, $1 will be withheld from your benefit payments.

A different, higher earnings limit applies in the year you reach your full retirement age. For 2025, this limit is $62,160. In this scenario, $1 in benefits is withheld for every $3 earned above the limit, but only earnings accumulated before the month you reach your full retirement age are counted towards this limit. A special monthly earnings test also applies during the first year you receive benefits. For 2025, this monthly limit is $1,950 if you are under full retirement age for the entire year, or $5,180 if it is the year you attain full retirement age.

Reporting Your Earnings

Accurately reporting your earnings to the Social Security Administration (SSA) is a necessary procedural step when receiving survivor benefits while working. The SSA uses this reported income to determine if your benefits need to be adjusted based on the earnings test. You can report your earnings through various methods, which typically include reporting online, by phone, or by visiting a local SSA office. Providing timely and accurate information helps prevent potential overpayments or underpayments of your benefits.

After you report your earnings, the SSA calculates any necessary adjustments to your survivor benefits. If your earnings exceeded the limits, the SSA will withhold future benefit payments until the amount equal to the overpayment is recovered. Any benefits withheld due to exceeding the earnings limit are not permanently lost; they are typically added back to your monthly benefit amount once you reach your full retirement age.

Special Rules for Different Beneficiaries

Once a beneficiary reaches their full retirement age, the earnings test no longer applies, meaning they can earn any amount without their survivor benefits being reduced. This provides greater financial flexibility for individuals who continue to work past their full retirement age.

For those receiving survivor benefits based on disability, different rules apply, primarily focusing on “Substantial Gainful Activity” (SGA) rather than the earnings test. When children receive survivor benefits, the earnings test applies if they are working and are not disabled. For parents receiving survivor benefits, the general earnings test rules apply if they are working and are under their full retirement age.