death benefit

noun

: money payable to the beneficiary of a deceased

Examples of death benefit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Whole life insurance has premiums and a death benefit that don't change, while universal life insurance has flexible premiums and a death benefit that can go up or down depending on the cash value of your policy. —Kelsey Neubauer,liz Knueven, CNBC, 11 Mar. 2026

In his Wednesday interview, Gonzales alleged that when Santos-Aviles died, her widow reached out to the representative’s offices to ask about death benefits and retirement funds. —Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 5 Mar. 2026

In the early days of Social Security, Congress offered a one-time death benefit to the family members of a taxpayer who died before having a chance to collect Social Security benefits. —Tom Margenau, Dallas Morning News, 1 Mar. 2026

High-wealth households looking for more ways to save One common misconception about life insurance, industry experts say, is that its only purpose is to pay a death benefit. —Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 15 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

death benefit

noun

: money payable to the beneficiary of a deceased as a benefit (as under a policy of life or accident insurance or a pension plan)

Note: The right to death benefits is generally terminated in cases of fraud, as when an insured commits suicide after purchasing a policy or when the beneficiary murders the insured.