Regular readers are aware of my fondness for the monthly retirement account newsletter published by Ed Slott & Co. The business, which positions itself as America’s IRA specialists, also provides a helpful monthly on Social Security, which is authored by Heather Schreiber, one of its experts in the subject.
Schreiber talked about caregiver benefits in a recent newsletter issue. This topic pertains to widows and widowers who are in charge of parenting small children when a parent passes away. Most people are not familiar with the complex regulations pertaining to caregivers.
Children under the age of 18 are entitled to survivor benefits when a person passes away after accruing enough Social Security credits to qualify for a retirement payout. The main insurance amount, or PIA, is the surviving child’s entitlement to 75% of the deceased parent’s whole retirement income.
The amount of the PIA is determined by the deceased parent’s Social Security earnings and what their benefit would have been at full retirement age. If the surviving parent is in charge of the dependent child’s care, they are also entitled to 75% of the PIA in addition to the survivor benefit that is given to the worker’s child. This is referred to as the mother’s or father’s benefit. Until the dependent child becomes 18 or graduates from high school, whichever comes first (but not after age 19), they are eligible for a survivor benefit. If the child has a disability that started before the age of 22, there is an exception.
As long as the child is receiving a survivor benefit, the parent is eligible for a caregiver benefit. The family maximum is the maximum amount of benefits that can be provided to both the caretaker parent and the child. The caregiver’s wages determine the maximum amount that can be paid to them. If the caregiver’s annual income exceeds $23,400 in 2025, Social Security will deduct $1 in payments for every $2 over that amount. Subject to the family maximum, the caregiver is eligible to 75% of the PIA if the income is less than $23,400. Based on a four-stage methodology, the family maximum can be anywhere between 1.5 and 1.8 times the worker’s complete payment amount. Navigate to Family Benefits in the IRS publication Retirement Benefits.
Even if a divorced person has remarried and their new spouse is still living, they are still eligible for a survivor benefit as long as their first marriage lasted at least ten years and any subsequent marriages occurred after the age of sixty. If a woman has achieved full retirement age, she would be eligible to receive 100% of her ex-husband’s Social Security payments in the event of his death.
This is not the same as how spousal benefits operate in a divorce. Consider the example of a woman who remarried after turning 60 and divorced after ten years of marriage. She would not be eligible for spousal benefits after a second marriage, even if her ex’s Social Security payment was more than her new spouse’s, even if she was over 60. When she remarries, she would no longer be eligible for spousal benefits based on her former spouse’s Social Security job record, if she had been receiving them since then.
Many people are unaware that, depending on their ex’s Social Security job history, they are still entitled to a survivor benefit even though they are no longer eligible for spousal benefits from their former after remarriage. Survivors are only eligible for the higher of the survivor benefits or the Social Security payment depending on their employment history, but not both.
Disability compensation is paid to people who were disabled before they reached full retirement age, just as if they had already done so. As a result, when they reach full retirement age, they are not eligible for an extra benefit. While disabled, they receive annual cost-of-living increases. However, if either their new spouse or their ex passes away and their Social Security benefit surpasses their disability payment, disabled people would be eligible for higher income, such as a survivor benefit. Only a second marriage after the age of 60 would qualify for the survivor benefit from an ex. Only if the current spouse has applied for benefits and 50% of their Social Security payment is greater than the handicapped person’s benefit would a spousal option be applicable.
You can contact Elliot Raphaelson at [email protected] with any questions or comments.
