Social Security
Survivors of Deceased Workers
The 1939 amendments also added a life insurance benefit to Social Security. Surviving spouses and minor children of a prematurely deceased worker were now entitled to a benefit.15
In 2017, 10 percent of beneficiaries were collecting as survivors of a deceased worker.16 This program functions as life insurance for many working American families, covering 95 percent of workers age 20 to 49. For a young worker with average earnings and a
4 person family, this is the equivalent of a life insurance policy with a face value of $674,000 in 2016.
Almost 90 percent of people age 21 to 64 and who are in covered employment under Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) are insured in the event of a severe
disability.17
15 https://www.ssa.gov/history/briefhistory3.html
16 https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/chartbooks/fast_facts/2017/fast_facts17.pdf 17 https://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-top-ten-facts-about-social-security
17 https://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-top-ten-facts-about-social-security
Social Security: A Promise to American Workers and Families