From the video
One check worksheet
You came from the video When $3,700 Becomes $2,400, Can a Widow Keep the House? This is the One Check Worksheet from it. The four house lines go on the left, the check that stays goes on the right, and your percent comes out at the bottom. Free.
Written and checked by James Smiling, PhD.
Get the free Retirement Money Blueprint, plus the One Check Worksheet
One page: property tax, insurance, upkeep and utilities on the left, the check that stays on the right, and the share of that check the house takes at the bottom. It also has the find-your-row table and the claiming-age table from the video. The Retirement Money Blueprint and its workbook come with it, so you can see the month your house is paid off.
One Check Worksheet (Excel)
The same worksheet as a PDF, to print
Your percent
The boxes start with the video's example: checks of $2,400 and $1,300, and a paid-off house worth $429,100. Put in your own numbers and your percent at the bottom updates.
Left: the house, each month
Right: the check that stays
| Both checks together | |
| The check that stays (the bigger one) | |
| Drop each month | |
| Drop as a share, and over a year |
| 1. Property tax | |
| 2. Insurance | |
| 3. Upkeep | |
| 4. Utilities | |
| 5. Mortgage | |
| House total, per month | |
| Left each month for food, medicine, the car and the rest |
Find your row
Your house total against a few other checks.
| If the check that stays is | The house takes |
|---|
The video's example
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Both checks: $2,400 + $1,300 | $3,700 a month |
| After one spouse dies, only the bigger check stays | $2,400 a month |
| The check that stops | $1,300 a month (35%), $15,600 a year |
| 1. Property tax, 0.9% of $429,100 | $322 |
| 2. Insurance, $2,948 a year | $246 |
| 3. Upkeep at 1% a year | $358 |
| 4. Utilities (an assumption, close to about $388 for households 65 to 74) | $400 |
| The paid-off house, per month | $1,325 |
| Share of both checks | 36% |
| Share of the one check that stays | 55% |
| Left for everything else | $1,075 |
| Upkeep at 2% instead: the house per month | $1,683 |
| At 2% upkeep: share of both checks, then of one | 45%, then 70% |
When the higher earner claimed
The age the higher earner claimed Social Security can move the check that stays. If they claimed early, the survivor check doesn't drop all the way down: the survivor gets the bigger of what the spouse was getting, or 82.5% of the spouse's full amount.
| Higher earner claimed at | They were paid | Survivor check |
|---|---|---|
| 62 (70% of $2,400) | $1,680 | $1,980 (the 82.5% floor) |
| 67, full retirement age | $2,400 | $2,400 |
| 70 (about 124%) | $2,976 | $2,976 |
Between 62 and 67, the survivor check differs by $420 a month, $5,040 a year. A couple who claimed at 62 had less all along: $1,680 + $1,300 = $2,980, not $3,700.
Three paths
Path 1, keep it as it is. If other savings can fill the gap, this works. Write down your gap each month, then divide your savings by it.
| Gap each month (house + needs − the check that stays) | |
| How long the savings cover the gap |
Path 2, keep the house and cut what it costs. Many states and counties offer property tax relief for older homeowners, and some for surviving spouses; the rules differ a lot by state, so call your county assessor. Shop the insurance with your declarations page in hand. Every $100 a month you take off the house moves your share down by about 4 points. Take $200 off, and 55% becomes about 47%.
Path 3, sell, or move somewhere smaller. A smaller place can lower all four lines at once. If you sell within 2 years of the death, haven't remarried, and the usual rules are met, you may still be able to use the married couple's home sale tax break, which covers up to $500,000 of gain. In most states, if you owned the house jointly, your spouse's half gets a new starting value for tax: its value at the death. Selling has costs too; the Downsize Tally worksheet shows what you would actually keep.
Your One Check Worksheet
Filled in from the calculator above. Print it and keep it with your Social Security statements.
| 1. Property tax | |
| 2. Insurance | |
| 3. Upkeep () | |
| 4. Utilities | |
| 5. Mortgage, if any | |
| House total |
| Check 1 | |
| Check 2 | |
| Both checks | |
| The check that stays | |
| Left each month |
| Your percent: house total ÷ the check that stays | |
| The same house with both checks |
The first month
- Funeral homes generally tell Social Security about the death. You still contact Social Security yourself to apply for the survivor check.
- The payment for the month of death is not due and goes back. If the death is in July, the payment that arrives in August goes back, so plan for one thin month.
- Ask about the one-time $255 payment for a spouse who was living with them. Apply within 2 years.
- Find the higher earner's amount at full retirement age on the Social Security statements at ssa.gov.
These checks are before Medicare Part B, which is often deducted, so your amounts may look a little lower. The example assumes the survivor has reached full retirement age (66 or 67); a younger survivor starts lower, about 71.5% at 60. If the house still has a mortgage, add it as line 5. Sources: Social Security Administration; SSA POMS RS 00615.320; ATTOM 2025 (0.9% average property tax); Insurify ($2,948 average for 2025); Fannie Mae (1% to 4% upkeep); BLS (households 65 to 74); NAR median existing-home price, August 2026. Utilities of $400 are an assumption. Education, not financial advice.
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