Question: My brother recently passed away at age 53. His wife had passed away five years earlier. Their youngest child was 11 when she passed away. In looking at all of my brother’s documents, we came across the mother’s Social Security annual statement. It stated that the children were eligible for death benefits. Unfortunately, my brother did not know about Social Security death benefits. They will not pay retroactive five years since no application was done. The problem I have is that no one told my brother that he could apply for death benefits with Social Security. Is that something the funeral director should have done or even Social Security?
Answer: Truly sorry to hear about your brother’s passing. Funeral directors normally do send a notice of death to Social Security, but the Social Security Administration has no way of knowing if there are surviving children who could be eligible for benefits. Lump sum death benefits are small amounts (i.e., $255).
The real question right now is whether your brother’s youngest child, who is now 16, is collecting a child survivor benefit to which he or she is eligible until he or she reaches age 18 (or 19 if still in elementary school or high school). The child can collect the larger of either the child survivor benefit based on your brother’s work record or based on your deceased sister-in-law’s work record. The child may also be eligible for up to six months of back pay on your deceased sister-in-law’s work record. If any of your brother’s children are disabled and become disabled before age 22, they can collect child survivor benefits no matter how old they are or become.
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