Hi Larry! Can you please provide an information regarding my situation: My UK citizen husband passed away last year. He was receiving the UK state pension and US Social Security as he worked in the US but wasn't the US citizen. My question is - am I eligible to receive survivor benefit, or mother's benefit, if I am caring of a child under 16? My daugjter is 9 and my husband wasn't her biological father, we got married when she was 2 years old and from 2014 I am receiving a Child Benefit for her. We are the UK citizen from 2016. If I am eligible for the benefit how can I claim from the UK? Thanks in advance!

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

I can't give you a complete answer without knowing your age. And, my answer is limited to U.S. Social Security benefits since that is my only area of expertise. My answer also assumes that what your husband was drawing was either U.S. Social Security retirement or disability benefits based on his own U.S. earnings history.

If you're at least age 60, or at least age 50 and disabled, it sounds like you could qualify for widow's benefits regardless of the status of your child. However, if you aren't old enough for widow's benefits, then you could only qualify for survivor benefits if your daughter is eligible for child benefits from the U.S. Social Security program.

Unless your daughter was adopted by your husband, she would have to have been considered financially dependent on your husband in order to qualify for benefits at a step-child. Basically, that means that your husband would have to have have been providing at least 50% of your daughter's financial support (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.03/handbook-0335.html).

If you think that either you and/or your daughter might qualify for U.S. Social Security benefits, you can file an application for those benefits. For more information about filing for benefits while outside the U.S., refer to the following Social Security website: https://www.ssa.gov/foreign/foreign.htm.

Best, Jerry