They had no appointments available. Which is awful. So they are going to call my mother to set up the phone appointment.

The #1 scams in the US right now are car warranty scams, something with iPhones and SS office stuff. And our government is using phone calls to flip a bit in a database.

This is the page I found that was helpful: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/survivors/ifyou.html

[quote]A widow, widower, or surviving divorced spouse cannot apply online for survivors benefits. You should contact Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 to request an appointment. (If you are deaf or hard of hearing, call our TTY number at 1-800-325-0778.)[/quote]

The government will instantly stop SSN payments when people die. They will not automatically transfer over payments.

There is no way to get the survivor benefit transferred online. What worked was calling the above number. I had to have the SSNs for my mother and father handy.

The gal on the phone confirmed my father's passing and is currently stating that a phone appointment will be setup with my mother. More details as I have it. But this shit is HORRIBLY documented. 500,000 people died thanks to COVID-19 and we live in a country where the one thing a grieving spouse needs to do requires digging the info and making a call and fuck you you're on your own. It should be automatic that this payment is transferred if it is higher for the surviving spouse.