More Questions About Widows Benefits

More Questions About Widows Benefits
A sign is seen outside a U.S. Social Security Administration building in Burbank, Calif., on Nov. 5, 2020. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images
Tom Margenau
Updated:
Sometimes, when I write a column about a certain topic, that column seems to generate more questions than it answers. And that certainly was the case with a column I wrote about widows benefits just before the holidays. Ever since, my inbox has been crammed with emails from widows or about widows. And I even got some questions about benefits for widowers.
Q: You wrote an interesting column about widows benefits. But you didn’t say anything about widowers. So, what about us guys? Can we get anything from Social Security if our wife dies first?
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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