If you’ve recently lost your spouse in Florida, you have a lot of hard things to deal with, from the grief of losing your partner to the stress of dealing with bills and other issues on your own. Fortunately, help is available. You may be entitled to receive Social Security benefits and other survivor benefits available in Florida.
Social Security survivor benefits can help you pay your bills, buy groceries, and stabilize your living situation while figuring out what to do next. Determining what you’re entitled to and how to claim it can be overwhelming, but an experienced survivor benefits attorney can help.
Disability Advocates Group Florida is a Social Security disability benefits law firm serving Plantation, Florida. We offer thoughtful representation and reliable assistance to widows and widowers needing survivor benefits. If you’re a widow or widower in Florida, contact us today for a free consultation.
Survivor Benefits in Florida
Survivor benefits in Florida include:
- Social Security survivor benefits
- Florida Retirement System survivor benefits
- Workers’ Compensation survivor benefits
- Survivor benefits provided by private employers
Not everyone qualifies for FRS, private employer, or Workers’ Comp survivor benefits, but everyone who is old enough and has been married long enough should qualify for Social Security survivor benefits. Survivor benefits are subject to yearly income limits depending on age, so talk to your lawyer about what you must do to remain eligible.
Social Security Survivor Benefits
Social Security provides monthly survivor benefits to the surviving family members of people who paid into the Social Security system before death. Survivor benefits are available to widows and widowers. Other family members may be eligible for survivor benefits too, including unmarried minor children, former spouses, and dependent parents.
If you’re a widow or widower, you may be eligible for Social Security survivor benefits if:
- You are 60 or older
- You are 50 to 59 with a disability
- You were married for 9 months or more before your spouse died
- You didn’t get remarried before turning 60 or before turning 50 with a disability
If you had a child with your spouse and the child is still a minor, you may be eligible for survivor benefits even if you aren’t old enough or were not married long enough to be eligible.
How Much You Can Receive
How much you can receive from Social Security depends on your age. The older you are when you apply for benefits, the more you will receive, starting with 71.5% of your spouse’s Social Security benefit. If you apply when you turn 61, you can receive 75%, followed by 80% at 63 and 90% when you turn 65. If you wait until you reach full retirement age between 66 and 67, you can receive 100% of your spouse’s benefit payment.
In addition to your survivor benefits, you may also qualify for Medicare if you have a disability or are above age 65.
How to Apply for Social Security Survivor Benefits
To apply for Social Security survivor benefits, call 1-800-772-1213 to make an appointment. Call 1-800-325-0778 if you’re hard of hearing. They will ask you to provide information, including:
- Your social security number
- Your place of birth
- Every place you’ve worked in the past five years, including the names of your employers, your pay rates, and the dates and hours you worked
- Your spouse’s Social Security number and date of birth
- The date you were married
- The place where you were married
- Your bank account and routing numbers
- Information about your children
A Florida Social Security disability benefits lawyer can help you with the application process.
Florida Retirement System Benefits
In addition to Social Security survivor benefits, you may qualify for other survivor benefits. The Florida Retirement System provides benefits for the spouses of state employees who have passed away. There are two types of FRS survivor benefits depending on whether your spouse died in the line of duty or not. Most survivors will receive 50% of their spouse’s monthly salary, but you may be able to receive 100% if your spouse was in a Special Risk Class. If you pass away, any minor children can receive survivor benefits until they turn 18. You can call the Florida Division of Retirement at 844-377-1888 to apply.
Workers’ Compensation Survivor Benefits
Florida’s Workers’ Compensation system provides survivor benefits to the widows or widowers of people who died as a result of a work-related injury or illness. You may also be entitled to educational benefits.
Employer Survivor Benefits
Some private employers also provide their own survivor benefits to the widows or widowers of deceased employees. These benefits can include continuing health insurance coverage as well as life insurance policies. To find out what benefits your spouse’s employer may provide, contact the company’s Human Resources department.
Contact a Florida Survivor Benefits Attorney Today
It’s good to know that benefits are available and that you don’t have to face the overwhelming situation you are in without financial help. However, it can be stressful and confusing to apply for benefits on your own. Even figuring out what benefits you may be entitled to can add to your stress at the most difficult time in your life.
A Social Security disability benefits attorney can help you navigate the benefits system, figure out what benefits you’re eligible for, and apply for your benefits without making any mistakes. Errors in the application process can delay your benefits, but a Florida benefits attorney can ensure that everything in your application is correct and complete.
Disability Advocates Group Florida is a Social Security disability benefits law firm with extensive experience applying for and obtaining survivor benefits for widows and widowers. We know the Social Security benefits system inside-out, and we can help you overcome any barriers you run into in the process of applying. If you’re a widow or a widower in Florida, contact us today for a free consultation about the benefits you could be entitled to.