Dear Larry,

My father passed away last month he was 75 years old . My dad was a resident in United States he work all his life .my mom is a us citiZen and she is 73 years old and taking social security . My dad never claimed his social security . He went to Pakistan and got sick he never made it back to United States can my mom claim the social security benefits of my dad or is there any other way we can claim his benefits that will be very helpful for us .

Thank you, Noman

Dear Noman,

As far as I understand, if your dad was a legal resident in the U.S. and accumulated enough quarters of coverage, your mom will be able to collect your dad's age-70 retirement benefit as a widow benefit instead of her own retirement benefit if her widow benefit is larger than her own retirement benefit. She just needs to have valid marriage and death certificates. If your dad passed away in Pakistan, you may need to ask the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan to help you obtain and verify your dad's death certificate. best, Larry

best, Larry