Value of lump-sum death benefit has eroded
Published 6:00 pm Monday, May 7, 2018
How long do you have to be married to be entitled to the $250 burial money that Social Security gives you?
“If you and the insured were validly married under State law … at the time the insured died if you apply for widow’s, widower’s, mother’s, or father’s benefits, the relationship requirement will be met,” reads the Code of Federal Regulations.
“The relationship requirement will also be met if under State law you would be able to inherit a wife’s, husband’s, widow’s, or widower’s share of the insured’s personal property if he or she were to die without leaving a will.”
The lump-sum benefit payment — it’s actually $255 — goes to spouses who were living with the Social Security recipient at the time of the recipient’s death.
If the recipient leaves behind no widow or widower, the benefit goes to a surviving child who receives or can receive Social Security benefits based on the deceased’s work record.
A Congressional Research Service report issued in February 2017 says the federal government disbursed $209 million in lump-sum benefit payments for 800,904 deaths in 2015.
“Because the $255 payment was split between multiple recipients in some cases, the agency made a total of 840,149 payments,” reads the CRS report, titled “Social Security: The Lump-Sum Death Benefit.”
“The number of payments is projected to remain at about the same level within the next few years, thus total spending will also remain at approximately the same dollar level. For most deaths, no lump-sum death benefit is paid. A benefit is paid for less than 43% of deaths of insured workers (as might be the case when there is no eligible family member to receive payment).”
The report notes that inflation has eroded the value of the lump-sum payment, which has been capped at $255 since the 1950s. The average benefit paid in 1954 was $208, which equates to about $1,800 in 2016 dollars.
For more information on benefits, call the Social Security Administration’s national service line at 800-772-1213; the TTY number is 800-325-0778.
Online: https://fas.org/sgp/crs; www.ssa.gov.
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Atacama, Dry Valleys both pretty arid
On the Weather Channel this week, someone said that the Atacama Desert, in Chile, is the driest place on Earth.
However, I have read that, technically, Antarctica is the world’s largest desert, and the driest place on Earth, since there is no liquid water there, and it never rains. So, where is the driest place on Earth?
Antarctica — covering 5.5 million square miles and averaging a few inches of precipitation a year — is the planet’s largest desert, and the McMurdo Dry Valleys comprise the driest place there.
The Atacama, which runs for 600 miles along the west cost of South America, features areas where no precipitation has ever been recorded.
But unfortunately The Informer can’t say definitively which is the driest because no one seems to be able to agree.
For every source noting the multiyear gaps between rainfall in the Atacama as evidence of that desert’s pre-eminence there’s a source pointing out that wind and topography combine to scour the Dry Valleys of snow and ice and that parts of the area have been devoid of water for millions of years.
But The Informer can say that Antarctica does indeed have liquid water, including about 400 subglacial lakes — the largest of which, Lake Vostok, covers an area of 6,000 square miles and lies beneath 2 miles of ice.
The Informer answers questions from readers each Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. It is researched and written by Andrew Perzo, an American Press staff writer. To ask a question, call 494-4098 and leave voice mail, or email informer@americanpress.com.
