How Can Social Security Help With Estate Planning?
by Grant Marsten - November 2024 (Updated September 2026)
When people think about estate planning, they usually think about wills, trusts, life insurance, property, and investments.
But there is another piece of the financial puzzle that families sometimes overlook: Social Security.
Social Security isn't an asset that you can leave to your children in a will. However, the way you and your spouse claim benefits can affect the amount of income available to your household during retirement—and, in some situations, the benefits available to a surviving spouse or other family members.
That makes Social Security worth considering as part of a broader retirement and estate-planning strategy.
Social Security Isn't an Inheritance
Let's clear up an important point first.
Your Social Security retirement benefit does not become an inheritance for your children when you die. Your monthly retirement benefit generally ends when you die.
However, eligible family members may qualify for their own benefits based on your Social Security earnings record.
Depending on the circumstances, survivor benefits can be available to a surviving spouse, surviving divorced spouse, children, and certain dependent parents.
That distinction is important: you're not passing your Social Security account to your heirs; you're potentially creating a source of income protection for eligible family members.
Why Social Security Can Matter to Estate Planning
Imagine a married couple with a retirement portfolio, a home, and other investments.
They need enough income to support themselves for the rest of their lives. At the same time, they would like to preserve as much of their financial assets as reasonably possible for their children.
Social Security can help provide a lifetime income stream that doesn't require the couple to sell investments to generate every dollar of retirement spending.
That doesn't mean delaying Social Security is automatically the right choice. It means the decision can have consequences beyond the person's own monthly retirement income.
For married couples in particular, the potential survivor benefit can make claiming decisions an important part of the conversation.
Social Security Survivor Benefits
Survivor benefits are one of the clearest connections between Social Security and family financial planning.
If a worker dies, an eligible surviving spouse may be able to receive a monthly survivor benefit based on the deceased worker's earnings record. Children and certain other family members may also qualify under specific circumstances.
For a surviving spouse, the amount depends in part on when the survivor claims the benefit. SSA says surviving spouses can receive between 71.5% and 100% of the deceased spouse's benefit depending on the survivor's age when benefits begin, with up to 100% available at survivor full retirement age.
This is why Social Security planning shouldn't always be viewed as an individual decision.
For a married couple, it can be a household decision.
An Example
Imagine John and Jane are married.
John has the larger Social Security retirement benefit. Jane has a smaller benefit based on her own work history.
If John dies first, Jane's survivor benefit may become an important part of her ongoing retirement income.
That means the couple may want to consider not only John's expected lifetime benefit, but also what his claiming strategy could mean for Jane if she outlives him.
This is one reason survivor protection can be an important part of retirement planning for couples with significantly different Social Security benefits.
Can Delaying Social Security Help a Surviving Spouse?
Potentially, yes—but this needs to be understood correctly.
For workers born in 1943 or later, Social Security retirement benefits receive delayed retirement credits of up to 8% per year for delaying after full retirement age, with the increase stopping at age 70.
A larger retirement benefit can also matter for a surviving spouse because the survivor benefit can be based on the deceased worker's benefit. The Social Security Administration specifically notes that a surviving spouse's benefit can be based on the higher amount resulting from delayed retirement credits.
This creates an important planning question:
Is the larger future benefit worth giving up the income you could receive by claiming earlier?
There is no universal answer. Life expectancy, health, other income, investment assets, taxes, spending needs, and the age and financial position of a spouse can all affect the decision.
Don't Confuse Spousal Benefits With Survivor Benefits
These two benefits are related, but they are not the same thing.
Spousal Benefits
While both spouses are alive, an eligible spouse may qualify for a benefit based on the other spouse's earnings record.
A spouse's maximum benefit at full retirement age can be up to 50% of the worker's full-retirement-age benefit. Importantly, delayed retirement credits earned by the worker do not increase the maximum spousal benefit in the same way they increase the worker's own retirement benefit.
Survivor Benefits
After a worker dies, an eligible surviving spouse may qualify for a survivor benefit. The calculation and claiming rules are different.
In particular, the survivor benefit can reflect delayed retirement credits earned by the deceased worker.
Understanding that distinction can make Social Security planning much more useful for couples.
Social Security Can Help Preserve Other Retirement Assets
Here's where Social Security connects to the broader estate-planning picture.
Suppose a retiree has $750,000 invested and receives a reliable Social Security benefit every month.
The retiree may not need to withdraw as much from the investment portfolio to cover ordinary living expenses.
Over time, that can affect how much remains invested or how much may eventually be available to heirs.
Of course, this is not a guarantee that delaying Social Security will produce a larger estate. Spending needs, investment returns, taxes, inflation, longevity, and many other factors can change the outcome.
The important idea is simply that retirement income and estate planning are connected.
Social Security and Tax Planning
Social Security benefits can also interact with your overall tax situation.
For U.S. taxpayers, whether Social Security benefits are taxable depends on the taxpayer's combined income and filing circumstances.
That means the best retirement-income strategy isn't necessarily the one that produces the largest Social Security cheque by itself.
You also need to consider how Social Security interacts with:
- IRA withdrawals.
- 401(k) withdrawals.
- Roth conversions.
- Pension income.
- Investment income.
- Required minimum distributions.
- Federal and state income taxes.
A strategy that looks great before taxes can look very different after taxes.
Social Security and Roth Conversions
For some retirees, the years between retirement and required minimum distributions can create an opportunity to manage taxable income.
A Roth conversion moves money from certain tax-deferred retirement accounts into a Roth account and generally creates taxable income in the year of the conversion.
The interaction between conversions, Social Security, Medicare premiums, investment income, and future required distributions can become complicated.
This is an area where personalized tax advice can be valuable.
What About Children and Social Security?
Social Security survivor benefits aren't limited to spouses.
Under certain circumstances, an unmarried child of a deceased worker may qualify for survivor benefits if the child is under 18, is 18 or 19 and a full-time K–12 student, or has a qualifying disability that began before age 22.
These benefits are separate from leaving financial assets to children through a will or trust, but they can provide additional financial support for an eligible family after a parent's death.
Families should check the specific Social Security eligibility rules rather than assuming a child automatically qualifies.
Social Security Is Only One Piece of an Estate Plan
Social Security can be important, but it shouldn't replace the fundamentals of estate planning.
A comprehensive estate plan may include:
- A current will.
- Beneficiary designations.
- Powers of attorney.
- Healthcare directives.
- Trusts where appropriate.
- Life insurance.
- Tax planning.
- Retirement-account planning.
- A plan for the family home and other property.
- A strategy for retirement income.
Social Security fits into this picture because it can provide income during retirement and, in qualifying circumstances, financial support to surviving family members.
Questions Couples Should Ask Before Claiming Social Security
If you're married and approaching retirement, consider discussing these questions together:
- What is each spouse's estimated Social Security benefit?
- What happens to our household income if one spouse dies first?
- How would the surviving spouse's expenses change?
- Which spouse has the larger Social Security benefit?
- Would delaying the higher earner's benefit improve survivor protection?
- How do Social Security benefits interact with our other retirement income?
- What are the tax consequences of different withdrawal strategies?
- How much of our investment portfolio do we expect to leave to our heirs?
- Are our wills and beneficiary designations up to date?
These questions don't tell you what decision to make. They help you understand the consequences of each option.
Fun Facts About Social Security and Survivors
- Social Security survivor benefits may be available to eligible spouses, divorced spouses, children, and dependent parents.
- A surviving spouse may receive up to 100% of the deceased worker's benefit when claiming at survivor full retirement age, subject to the applicable rules.
- For workers born in 1943 or later, delayed retirement credits can increase retirement benefits by up to 8% for each full year of delay after full retirement age, up to age 70.
- A worker's delayed retirement credits can affect the amount available to an eligible surviving spouse.
- Survivor benefits and spousal benefits are different programs with different rules and claiming considerations.
Conclusion: Think Beyond Your Own Monthly Benefit
Social Security is often treated as a simple question: "When should I start collecting?"
For married couples, the question can be much bigger.
How you claim Social Security can affect your retirement income, your withdrawals from investments, your tax situation, and potentially the financial resources available to a surviving spouse.
That's why Social Security deserves a place in the broader retirement and estate-planning conversation.
It isn't an inheritance. It isn't a substitute for a will. And delaying benefits isn't automatically the right strategy.
Instead, think of Social Security as one piece of a much larger financial puzzle—and make sure that puzzle includes both the retirement you want to live and the legacy you want to leave.
