Puny death benefit boosted if Baca measure passes

Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) has introduced a bill to increase the minuscule $255 benefit paid to a surviving spouse in the event of the death of a Social Security beneficiary. Baca’s bill would increase the payment to 47% of the deceased person’s regular monthly Social Security income, with $255 as the minimum payment.

The bill also calls for paying Social Security benefits for each day that a recipient lives. Under existing law, the survivor gets nothing except the $255 for the month in which the spouse dies.

“It is wrong to shortchange our seniors, especially when they are dealing with the loss of their husband or wife,” Baca said.

The current $255 payment, which has not been adjusted to keep up with living costs, is barely enough to pay for an urn for the ashes of the deceased.

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