Social Security Mother's or Father's Insurance Benefits are paid to the surviving spouse or surviving divorced spouse of an insured worker.

To qualify, you must:

• Be unmarried.
• Meet the marriage duration requirement.
• Care for the worker’s child who is:
  • Under age 16, or
  • Disabled and entitled to child's insurance benefits.
  For a surviving divorced mother or father, the child must be their natural or legally adopted child.
• Be entitled to a lower Social Security retirement benefit on your own record.
• Not be entitled to a widow's or widower's benefit.

The divorce must be final for a surviving divorced mother or father.

Visit the Information You Need to Apply for Mother’s or Father’s Benefits – Form SSA-5 page for details on how to apply.

To find out what other Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits you may qualify for, use the SSA Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool (BEST) on Benefits.gov.

Once you complete the questionnaire, you get a list of benefits you may qualify for. Print this page for your records before going to the application site.

When you know which benefits you can apply for, click Apply for Social Security Benefits to apply online.

You can also call to learn more about SSA benefits and get application information.

• 1-800-772-1213
• TTY 1-800-325-0778