WI23-Q3: Is there Under-claiming of Survivors’ Benefits Among Adults Under Age 62?

The survivor’s portion of Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) has not been widely studied, but may play an important role in supporting the economic stability of widow/widower households, especially those with children. Children (under age 18, or 19 if still in school) of deceased workers are eligible to receive monthly benefits up to 75 percent of the insured worker's primary insurance amount. The caregiver of a deceased insured worker's child under age 16 (or disabled) is also eligible for monthly benefits regardless of their age. Even survivors without children may benefit from claiming benefits early. While surviving spouses of insured workers are eligible for OASI benefits at full retirement age based on their spouse’s record, they can claim reduced monthly benefits at age 60 (or age 50 if disabled), earlier than the age 62 required for other beneficiaries. Given lower levels of understanding of OASI benefit rules for survivors, it is possible that eligible beneficiaries do not claim benefit payments. Understanding patterns in Survivor’s claims may be especially important when considering factors that contribute to inequality by race, income and other factors. We ask two main questions: (1) Is there systematic under-claiming for Social Security Survivors’ benefits? (2) Are there differences in take-up rates across targeted populations?