Social Security makes a one-time payment of $255 to a surviving spouse is he or she was living with the beneficiary at the time of the death. If the spouse was living apart, he will also receive the lump sum death benefit, if he was eligible for Social Security benefits on the beneficiaries' earnings record for the month of the death. Social Security no longer pays the lump sum death payment to the person or entity handling the claimant's funeral expenses or arrangements.