The actual amount of your payment will differ according to your age and family circumstance:
- As previously noted, if you have reached full retirement age, you get 100 percent of the benefit your spouse was (or would have been) collecting.
- If you claim survivor benefits between age 60 and your full retirement age, you will receive between 71.5 percent and 99 percent of the deceased’s benefit. The percentage gets higher the older you are when you claim.
- If you claim in your 50s as a disabled spouse, the survivor benefit is 71.5 percent of your late spouse's benefit.
- If you apply on the basis of caring for a child who is under 16 or disabled, you can collect 75 percent of the late spouse’s benefit, regardless of your age.
