Big Idea

• Men and women have died to win the privileges we enjoy
• Social Security offers benefits to wounded warriors
• Social Security offers benefits to surviving family members
• Read more...

Military service members can receive Social Security benefits

On Memorial Day, our nation honors military service members who have given their lives for our country.  As Former President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men [and women] have died to win them."  This is why families, friends, and communities come together to remember the great sacrifices of our military members and ensure their legacies live on.  

The benefits we provide can help the surviving families of deceased military service members.  For example, widows, widowers, and their dependent children may be eligible for Social Security survivors benefits.  You can learn more about those benefits at www.ssa.gov/survivors.  

We also offer support to our wounded warriors.  Social Security benefits protect veterans when injuries prevent them from returning to active duty or performing other work.  Both the Department of Veteran Affairs and Social Security have disability programs.  You may qualify for disability benefits through one program but not the other, or you may qualify for both.  Depending on your situation, some members of your family, including your dependent children or spouse, may be eligible to receive Social Security benefits.  

Wounded military service members can receive expedited processing of their Social Security disability claims.  If you are a veteran with a 100% Permanent & Total compensation rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs, we’ll expedite your disability claim.  

Want more information about how we can help?  Visit www.ssa.gov/woundedwarriors for answers to commonly asked questions or to find information about the application process. 

Thinking about retirement or know a veteran who is?  Military service members can receive Social Security benefits in addition to their military retirement benefits.  For details, visit our webpage for veterans, available at www.ssa.gov/people/veterans.

Please share this information with the military families you know.  We honor and thank the veterans who bravely served and died for our country and the military service members who serve today.