A claimant is eligible for the MSSR if they are the only entitled beneficiary on the Number Holder's (NH's) record and the NH:

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  Was first eligible before 1982, or

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  Has a vow of poverty and was eligible before 1992. (See RS 00605.100A.2.), and

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  Died before 1982. (If the NH was age 62 or disabled before 1982 and died after 1981, the MSSR still applies as long as the claimant was eligible before 1982.)

A claimant is considered to be the only entitled beneficiary even if another person is entitled if that other person is a divorced spouse or surviving divorced spouse paid outside the family maximum as explained in RS 00615.680.

The method to determine the MSSR will vary depending upon the type of PIA computation which applies to any eligibility which the NH has at death, or if the NH is not eligible, the PIA computation which applies to the survivor claim.

The 1981 Amendments eliminated the Minimum PIA and the MSSR for the NH and survivors who are first eligible for benefits after 1981 except for members of certain religious groups who took a vow of poverty. For those individuals only, the Minimum PIA and MSSR were eliminated for those eligible after 1991.

EXAMPLE: The sole survivor rate for a child who is first eligible for benefits in 1983 (NH dies in 1983) would be computed by the normal benefit rules (75 percent of the PIA). The MSSR would not be considered.