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Can a Surviving Spouse Collect Two Social Security Checks? No, But There's a Best-of-Both-Worlds Strategy

According to the Social Security Administration, approximately 5.8 million people receive survivor benefits each month. If you are one of these individuals, you cannot receive both your deceased spouse's full Social Security check and your own; however, a surviving spouse can collect two Social Security benefits in a combined payment if the survivor benefit is higher than their own retirement benefit, or they can strategically switch between benefits to maximize their lifetime income.