• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Getting a deceased family member's social security years after the fact

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

DisabledGeek89

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Virginia


Please not this does not have anything to do with my previous thread.
Can my father or myself get social security from my deceased step mother who paid into the system, made good money as a nurse and still get his social security when he retires as well? I don't think she left a will but we could use the extra money. Please note she sadly passed away a long time ago. Anything we get would help our financial situation.
 


LdiJ

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? Virginia


Please not this does not have anything to do with my previous thread.
Can my father or myself get social security from my deceased step mother who paid into the system, made good money as a nurse and still get his social security when he retires as well? I don't think she left a will but we could use the extra money. Please note she sadly passed away a long time ago. Anything we get would help our financial situation.
Your father would need to consult with your local Social Security office.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
You cannot get benefits from your stepmother.

How long were she and your father married? Is your mother still living? How long was your father married to her?
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
The SSA would not give someone the "run around". Things simply don't work that way. Either he qualifies for benefits or he does not.
I'd like to invite you to come to MA and work with our retiree population for a week. You'll have quite a different view at the end of it.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Believe me, the SSA gives people the runaround. I'm still in runarounds with them on several issues. That is a ridiculous statement.
I have never had that problem. Anything I have ever done with them has gone very smoothly.

I cannot see someone getting the run around on claiming SS Benefits off a spouse's record. That is such a standard procedure. I can see someone not qualifying if they were not married long enough or had some other disqualifying issue, but I cannot see someone getting the run around.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Well, I have had that problem, or rather, I've had to assist employees with that problem.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Maybe "run around" ought to be defined ;)

One person's normal bureaucratic shuffle is another's run around.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
Well, I've been trying to get my own SS records for two years now. Every time I inquire, they say they are having them sent. I've never seen them.
You might not consider that a run around, but it sure as hell is to me.

My step son's SSI is so royally screwed up. It's most likely incompetence (there seems to be paperwork that has been received but not processed), rather than malice, but it still has me, my stepson, and his attorney doing a lot of running around.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
The particular retiree I had in mind has been trying for two years or more to apply for Medicare.
 

Janke

Member
What is the name of your state? Virginia


Please not this does not have anything to do with my previous thread.
Can my father or myself get social security from my deceased step mother who paid into the system, made good money as a nurse and still get his social security when he retires as well? I don't think she left a will but we could use the extra money. Please note she sadly passed away a long time ago. Anything we get would help our financial situation.

A widow or widower can potentially qualify as early as age 60 or 50 if disabled. Annual earnings test matters through full retirement age, currently 66. The deceased has to have paid enough years under Social Security to be "insured", generally a full ten years or 40 quarters. Some government employees do not pay Social Security taxes. Early filing does create lifetime reduction factors to the widower's benefit. And the widower cannot get their own full benefit and on top of it the full widower's benefit at the same time. The net result is that the highest one is paid, not both added up.

Rarely, rarely can a stepchild qualify for anything. Under age 18. Proof that the deceased stepparent was supplying 1/2 support by submitted receipts. Almost always denied for lack of proof.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top