Hi Larry,
My question is regarding my parents and I have a couple hopefully you can still help. My dad was on social security disability and workers comp since around 1997 I believe. He passed away on April 2nd at 65. My first question is social security pays for the previous month correct? So April would have been for March when he was still alive but they took that payment can my mom get it back? My second question is total between social security and workers comp he was getting roughly $2,400 per month half from social security half from workers comp from what we knew when workers comp ended due to death or anything else social security would pick up that portion and pay all $2,400 and they arent. Can that be fixed or do I have my facts backwards and that's not how it works. The answer to that would lead into my final question my mom is 64 not full retirement age yet. She cannot work she is in most eyes disabled she does not want disability of her own just heard that social security paid the total of her late husband's benefits if she is disabled but they are only giving her $1,190 a month. How could this all be fixed so she can survive month to month?

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

Yes, regular Social Security benefits paid in April are payment for the month of March. And, yes, it sounds like your father's Social Security benefit for the month of March could be paid to your mother as his widow. If your mother has filed for widow's benefits, Social Security should automatically reissue your father's benefit payment for March to her. If they don't, she may need to complete and submit a request for underpayment: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-1724.html.

As a widow, your mother would be eligible for an unreduced benefit rate equal to your father's primary insurance amount (PIA). A person's PIA is equal to their full Social Security benefit rate, or their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing at full retirement age (FRA). However, if your mother files for widow's benefits at age 64 her rate would be reduced for age by roughly 9.5%. That reduction for age would apply regardless of whether or not your mother is disabled.

I can't tell you whether or not your mother's widow's rate is accurate. If your father was receiving workers compensation benefits, those benefits may or may not have resulted in a reduction of his Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits. Whether or not worker's compensation offset applies to a person's SSDI benefits depends on the person's 1) earnings history, 2) their SSDI rate, 3) their worker's compensation rate, and 4) the state in which they were injured.

All that I can really tell you is that worker's compensation does not affect survivor benefits, so the fact that your father received worker's compensation would have no bearing on the amount of your mother's widow's benefits. However, if your father's SSDI rate for March should have been partially offset due to worker's compensation offset, then the underpayment for that month that could be paid to your mother would be equal to your father's SSDI rate reduced by any applicable worker's compensation offset.

Best, Jerry