My 74 yr. old ex is nowhere to be found. Will Social Security notify me upon his death so I can collect on his benefits?? Thanks, Carol

Hi Carol,

They will notify you if they know that you're eligible for benefits, but not otherwise. And, unless you're already receiving benefits on your ex-husband's account, the only way they'll know about you is if someone else files for survivor benefits on his account and lists you as a former spouse on their application.

Social Security normally learns of a person's death from funeral homes, or through electronic notifications from state death records. If you believe that you will qualify for surviving divorced wife's benefit upon your ex's death, and you won't hear about his death from any other source, about the only thing you can do is to periodically check with Social Security to see if you can file a claim for survivor benefits. Social Security benefits can be paid retroactively for no more than 6 months, so you'll probably want to check with them about twice a year.

Best, Jerry