My college roommate's husband just died, leaving behind her and three young children. I'm going to visit her soon, and she's asked that I help with paperwork/practicalities. I want to make sure we at least consider applying for all the benefits she might be eligible for. Her husband was a Canadian citizen with U.S. work history, she's a U.S. citizen, and the kids have dual citizenship. They live in British Columbia.
A few questions:
(1) Does anyone know of a good resource for figuring out benefits, either on the Canadian side or the U.S. one?
(2) On the U.S. side, I think my friend and her kids may be eligible for a tiny ($255) lump sum death benefit and for social security survivor benefits, though I'm not sure. The husband probably doesn't have 40 credits, but he worked in the U.S. recently, and SSA.gov (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement ... ts.html#h4) says "Under a special rule, we can pay benefits to your children and your spouse caring for your children, even if your record doesn't have the number of credits needed. They can get benefits if you have credits for 1 and 1/2 year's work (6 credits) in the 3 years before your death." It looks like survivor benefits are payable even if they continue to reside in Canada. There is also a "Totalization Agreement" that would allow them to qualify for U.S. benefits using his Canadian work history. https://www.ssa.gov/international/Agree ... ml#monthly -- "However, to be eligible to have your Canadian credits counted, you must have earned at least six work credits (generally 1½ years of work) under the U.S. system." Any catches I am missing here?
(3) It looks like they may also be eligible for a one-time death benefit, survivor's benefit, and children's benefit under the Canadian pension plan, though again I don't know the full details of his work history.
(4) The husband may also have had employer-sponsored life insurance.
(5) Any other big areas of benefit I am missing? My friend has a six-figure job in Canada, and will hopefully be able to keep it, so I don't anticipate her or her kids being eligible for income-based programs.
Thanks in advance for any help! (And if I've posted this in the wrong place, apologies -- it doesn't seem to fit squarely in the Canadian forum since half of it is about the U.S.)
A few questions:
(1) Does anyone know of a good resource for figuring out benefits, either on the Canadian side or the U.S. one?
(2) On the U.S. side, I think my friend and her kids may be eligible for a tiny ($255) lump sum death benefit and for social security survivor benefits, though I'm not sure. The husband probably doesn't have 40 credits, but he worked in the U.S. recently, and SSA.gov (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement ... ts.html#h4) says "Under a special rule, we can pay benefits to your children and your spouse caring for your children, even if your record doesn't have the number of credits needed. They can get benefits if you have credits for 1 and 1/2 year's work (6 credits) in the 3 years before your death." It looks like survivor benefits are payable even if they continue to reside in Canada. There is also a "Totalization Agreement" that would allow them to qualify for U.S. benefits using his Canadian work history. https://www.ssa.gov/international/Agree ... ml#monthly -- "However, to be eligible to have your Canadian credits counted, you must have earned at least six work credits (generally 1½ years of work) under the U.S. system." Any catches I am missing here?
(3) It looks like they may also be eligible for a one-time death benefit, survivor's benefit, and children's benefit under the Canadian pension plan, though again I don't know the full details of his work history.
(4) The husband may also have had employer-sponsored life insurance.
(5) Any other big areas of benefit I am missing? My friend has a six-figure job in Canada, and will hopefully be able to keep it, so I don't anticipate her or her kids being eligible for income-based programs.
Thanks in advance for any help! (And if I've posted this in the wrong place, apologies -- it doesn't seem to fit squarely in the Canadian forum since half of it is about the U.S.)
Statistics: Posted by shuchong — Sat Aug 03, 2024 5:57 pm — Replies 0 — Views 220