How Much For Those Eggs? Yes, Give Me The Sperm Too!

I love this Wall Street Journal article about Social Security benefits!  Apparently, depending on the state, children born posthumously receive social security benefits as surviving child of their parents.  This has developed into a serious issue because of fertility technology.

This should massively impact the secondary market for eggs and sperm!  Can you imagine going to the sperm bank for a donor:

Bank Teller: How may I help you?

Potential Customer: My God!  Mr. Jones must have had a PhD from MIT, been 6' 5" and very handsome. $132,000 for some sperm??

Bank Teller: No, ma'am, that's not quite right.  He had an IQ of 87, and mopped floors in the California state house for 53 years. Mr. Jones actually retired at age 72, only six months ago.  He then, tragically, I am sure, dropped dead immediately.  His children will each receive social security benefits and a California state employee pension until they turn 18.  We expect that a family of four can comfortably live in most major metropolitan areas once they birth his child.  A bargain, really. 

Potential Customer: Hmmm...that's a bit out of my price range.  Do you have something in a reasonably old, moderate health who is likely to die before I have to pay for the child's college?

I see a new business line for Wall Street: We can combine the demonized "stranger owned life insurance" products with a fertility operation!  Insurable interest abounds if you own the eggs or sperm of some elderly individual!

One last thought that I know is nagging my siblings: What if we clone our parents?  Do we immediately start collecting survivor benefits because of our grandparents?