Although many people tend to think about retirement or disability benefits when they think of Social Security, survivor benefits are another possibility. In fact, they receive on average $1,545 per month as of November 2024. Therefore, it could be an important part of many survivors’ monthly income in the United States.
If you were born from the eleventh to the twentieth of any month, your Social Security survivor benefit payment will be issued on January 15. This payday nor the one on the 22nd, will be yours if you began collecting survivor benefits before May 1997. If you are also on SSI, you are not eligible either.
Eligibility for Social Security survivor benefits on January 22, 2025
To get the January 22 payment from the Administration, whether you are a survivor or not, your birthday must fall from the 21st through the 31st. Again, you cannot be receiving SSI and you must have qualified for benefits after April 30, 1997.
Those survivors who started collecting Social Security before May 1997 will get their next Social Security check or direct deposit on February 3, 2025. This will also be your payday if you are on both SSI and Social Security.
Those born from the 1st to the 10th will be the first ones to collect the first round of Wednesday payments. Their payday will be on February 12, 2025. Therefore, survivors can receive money from the Agency on:
- January 15, 2025 (born 11-20)
- January 22 (born 21-31)
- February 3 (on SSI and Social Security)
- February 3 (on benefits before May 1997)
- February 12 (born 1-12)
Amounts for Social Security survivors’ benefits
The average payment for all survivors benefits was $1,508 before COLA. After the Cost-of-Living Adjustment, it will be $1,545. However, depending on your personal situation and on the deceased worker’s work history, the real amount you get can be lower or higher.
The average for children of deceased workers is $1,132, up from $1,105. As you can see is about $400 lower than for all survivors. What is more, widowed mothers and fathers get on average $1,318.
Nondisabled widow(er)s are the ones with the largest average survivor benefit. As a matter of fact, they get about $1,830. Disable widow(er)s get a lot less. Their average payment is about $950. Parents of deceased workers get about $1,667.