welcome to county office your ultimate guide to local government services and public records let's get started how do social Security survivor benefits work Social Security survivor benefits provide financial support to family members of deceased workers these benefits are primarily designed for spouses children and dependent parents to qualify for these benefits the deceased must have earned enough credits through their work history generally a worker needs to have at least 40 credits which equates to about 10 years of work survivor benefits can be claimed by a widow or widower at age 60 or 50 if disabled if the surviving spouse is caring for a child under age 16 they may receive benefits at any age children under 18 or up to 19 if still in high school can also receive benefits disabled children may qualify regardless of age if the disability began before age 22 the amount of benefits is based on the deceased workers earnings record the more a worker paid into Social Security the higher the Survivor benefit amount it is important to apply for these benefits as soon as possible after the worker's death benefits can be claimed online by phone or in person at a local Social Security office to learn more check out these links links which you can click in the description below and feel free to comment your questions we're here to help thanks for tuning in to our video please like And subscribe and leave a comment below see you in the next video [Music]