“my Father got $90 when my Mother passed away.”
Huh? I thought the “death benefit” was $255. http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10008.html That’s the amount any survivor receives no matter what their age is at their spouse’s death. The amount of monthly retirement they can receive in their spouse’s name depends on all the various factors cited by other posters.
“my Father got $90 when my Mother passed away.”
That was a long time ago and there was NO monthly payments.
I guess you can buy a really nice shovel for that money.