On the asset side, any pension or annuities that pay based on the single life of the deceased will end. As well, while Social Security has survivor benefits, the overall amount of benefits paid to the household will decrease by one-third to one-half. For single-earner households, benefits will drop by about 33 percent as the spousal benefit ends. If both spouses earned Social Security benefits based on their own records and had the same primary insurance amounts, the total benefits drop by 50 percent.
