• Social Security provides different types of benefits, including retirement, disability, survivors and supplemental security income (SSI). Each benefit type has different requirements for qualification. Social Security disability benefits for widows may come under both disability and survivor benefits with work requirements that the deceased must meet and disability requirements that the widow or widower must meet.
  
  

Widows and Widowers

• Social Security benefits for survivors include widows and widowers as a class of people who may qualify. If you are a widow or widower, your deceased spouse must have sufficient work history for you to meet the requirements, as you are applying for benefits based on your deceased spouse's entitlement. You must be 60 years old or older, or must be caring for the deceased's child who is under 16, under 18 and a full-time student, or 18 or older if disabled before age 22 and still disabled.
  
  

Disabled Widows and Widowers

• If you are a disabled widow or widower, you must be 50 years old or older to qualify for benefits based on your deceased spouse's entitlement, if you do not care for the deceased's child. Your disability must meet the definition of disability for an adult as defined by Social Security law, and the disability must have started prior to the death of your deceased spouse or within seven years after the death. The definition of disability is strict, and your disability must last more than a year or be expected to result in death. If you cannot do the job you did before or if Social Security determines you cannot adjust to another type of work because of your disability, you may qualify.
  
  

Remarriage

• If you are a widow or widower and you remarry after you are 60 years old, you are still eligible for benefits based on your deceased spouse's entitlement, if you otherwise qualify. If you remarry prior to 60, you lose benefits under Social Security as a survivor as long as the marriage continues, unless you are disabled. If you are disabled, you may remarry after age 50 without loss of benefits.
  
  

Other Benefits

• As of 2010, a one-time payment of $255 is available to the widow or widower of a deceased if the spouse lived with the deceased or received Social Security benefits on the deceased's entitlement. A deceased worker's child may also be entitled to Social Security survivor benefits, and some divorced spouses are entitled to benefits if they were married for 10 years prior to divorce.