Harry Gross: Son can't get late dad's SS
Dear Harry: My father died in 1981. I am his only child. Until he died, he collected Social Security. This lasted about four years. My mother died before him so she never got a dime of his SS. I'm 51, and I'm too young to collect on my own SS, but it sure would help me financially if I could collect on his as his sole heir. Shouldn't I be able to collect as the son of a man who died too young to get all his own money back? I did get some small inheritance in a savings account he had, but I used that, and more, for his funeral and burial.
What Harry says: Social Security does not operate as a savings account. It is more in the nature of an annuity. It usually ends with the death of the recipient. Sure, there are provisions for surviving spouses and minor children, but you don't fit into either category. There are also provisions for disability and some special situations that apply to the recipient. The annuity aspect relates to lifetime benefits, and the ones who die young leave enough money for those who outlive their normal life expectancy. Insurance company "pure" annuities work essentially the same way. Today, they're often "doctored-up" to be a combination of stock investment and annuity, and that differs them from SS.
Write Harry Gross c/o the Daily News, 400 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19130. Harry urges all his readers to give blood - contact the American Red Cross at 800-GIVE LIFE.
