Parent’s benefits

Dependent parents, who relied on their children for financial help, can also collect Social Security benefits if their child dies.  For a parent to be eligible for a benefit, the following criteria must be met:

• The deceased worker had sufficient work credits to qualify for Social Security benefits.
• You must be at least 62 years old and
• You have not married after the worker’s death
• You are the natural parent or become the legal adoptive parent or stepparent of the deceased worker, before the worker reached 16 years old.
• You have received at least one-half of your support from the deceased worker prior to their death
• You are not entitled to retirement Social Security benefits that are equal or exceed the parent’s benefit.

Find out more about these 11 Social Security Mistakes That Could Ruin Your Retirement!