What You Need to Know About Social Security If a Loved One Dies

What You Need to Know About Social Security If a Loved One Dies
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Tom Margenau
Updated:

Gosh, I hate getting old! Even though my wife and I are relatively fit, when you’re in your late 70s, you can’t help thinking about the inevitable.

We’re all going to die. And even though my wife is a few years older than me, I figure I’m eventually going to be the first to buy that one-way ticket to the great beyond. So I’ve started working on a little something I will leave my wife when I’m gone. It’s a file called, “I’m dead. Now what?” And in it will be all the information she will need to know to handle things like pensions, insurance, etc., after I’m gone. And one of the sections of that document will be about how to take care of Social Security matters.

Tom Margenau
Tom Margenau
Author
Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSA’s public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” If you have a Social Security question, contact him at [email protected]
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