YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY
By DAVID BROWN

Few people realize that their Social Security survivors insurance is probably worth more than any life insurance they have through work or a private insurance company. And it is insurance protection that almost every American worker who pays into Social Security has. Your spouse and dependent children would have a base of financial protection should something happen to you, and it is important to know about it. The following questions are designed to help you find out how much you know about your Social Security survivors insurance protection.

1. If you die before reaching retirement age, your child(ren) may receive Social Security survivors' benefits until age:
A. 21;
B. 18, or 19 if still in secondary school full time;
C. 16.

2. If your spouse dies and you are childless or your children are grown, you can receive survivors' benefits at age:
A. 60, or age 50 if disabled;
B. 62, or age 60 if disabled;
C. 65, or age 62 if disabled.

3. If you are divorced and your ex-husband or ex-wife dies, you may receive survivors' benefits on your ex-spouse's earnings record if:
A. The marriage lasted 20 years;
B. The marriage lasted 10 years;
C. The marriage lasted 5 years.

4. If your surviving spouse remarries, benefit payments would stop unless he/she is:
A. Age 60 or older;
B. Age 55 or older;
C. Age 62 or older.

5. The average monthly Social Security survivors' benefit payment for a widow or widower with two children is:
A. About $1,000;
B. About $1,500;
C. About $2,000.

Answers To Questions
1. B.
A surviving child may receive benefits up to age 18, or 19 if still in secondary
school full-time, or longer if disabled. A child who is disabled before age 22 may
receive child's benefits as long as he or she remains disabled and does not marry.
2. A.
Widows can receive benefits at age 60, or age 50 if disabled. Widows disabled at
age 50 or later may qualify for a disability benefit on their deceased husbands'
earnings.
3. B.
Surviving divorced spouses who have been married 10 years have the same
benefit rights and receive the same basic benefit amount as current surviving
spouses. (The benefit of the surviving divorced spouse will not affect those of the
current spouse.)
4. A.
At age 60, a surviving spouse can remarry and not lose eligibility for Social
Security benefits.
5. C.
In 2006, the average monthly survivors' benefit payment for a widow/widower
with two children is $2,074.
For more information about Social Security survivors benefits, visit www.socialsecurity.gov/planners/index.htm or call Social Security at 1-800-772- 1213 (TTY, 1-800-325-0778) and ask for the publication, Survivors Benefits.

Mr. Brown is District Manager of the Social Security Administration's Downtown New York Office.