COVID-19 has claimed more than 600,000 lives in the U.S., and researchers estimate in JAMA Pediatrics that translates into more than 46,000 kids who have lost a parent. What surviving parents might not know is that children can receive survivor benefits when a parent dies if that parent worked long enough in a job that required payment of Social Security taxes. Only about half of the 2 million children in the U.S. who have lost a parent as of 2014 received the Social Security benefits to which they were entitled, according to a 2019 analysis by David Weaver of the Congressional Budget Office. Counselors said they find many families have no idea that children qualify for benefits when a working parent dies or don’t know how to sign up.
