My mom has been receiving social security benefits from my dad for sometime now. She does not qualify to receive benefits of her own. My dad passed away about 4 years ago. She continued to receive the same amount as before his death until 2 months ago when her checks stopped coming. She did not get any notification about it.
What could be the reason for this? And what should she do? She is a U.S. Citizen but does not leave in the States and has been hard to get any information over the phone.

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

I have no idea why your mother's benefits may have stopped. It's very odd that your mother's benefit rate stayed the same after your father's death, though. Spousal benefits payable on the record of a living worker are based on 50% of the worker's primary insurance amount (PIA), whereas widow's benefits are based on 100% of the deceased's PIA or benefit rate. So, your mother's benefit amount should have increased significantly following your father's death.

I would suggest contacting Social Security to ask them to explain why your mother's benefits have stopped, and why her benefit rate apparently didn't increase after your father's death.

Best, Jerry