Can I claim Social Security survivors benefits from ex-husband who died at 67? I'm 40 and remarried
My ex-husband passed away a few months ago at age 67. We were married for 13 years before we divorced, and I've since remarried. I just turned 40 last month and was wondering if I'm eligible for any survivors benefits from his Social Security record? I heard from a friend that ex-spouses can sometimes get benefits, but I'm not sure if my current marriage affects this or if I'm too young. I've tried calling the SSA three times this week but keep getting disconnected after waiting for over an hour. Has anyone dealt with a similar situation or know what the rules are for ex-spouse survivor benefits?
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Noah Irving
Unfortunately, you're not eligible for survivor benefits from your ex-husband's record for two reasons. First, you remarried - generally, you cannot receive benefits on a former spouse's record if you remarry. Second, even if you weren't remarried, survivor benefits typically aren't available until you reach age 60 (or 50 if disabled). The 13-year marriage duration would have qualified you (need 10+ years), but the remarriage and age requirements are disqualifying factors in your situation.
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Katherine Ziminski
•Thank you for explaining this so clearly. I wasn't sure about the age requirements. Is there ANY exception to the remarriage rule? I've heard conflicting things about this from family members.
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Vanessa Chang
My aunt got benefits from her ex even tho she remarried but that was because she was already like 65 when she remarried so maybe theres different rules if your older??
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Noah Irving
•You're correct that there's an exception. If you remarry after age 60 (or age 50 if disabled), you can still collect survivor benefits on your ex-spouse's record. That's probably what happened with your aunt. But since the original poster remarried well before age 60, this exception wouldn't apply to her situation.
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Madison King
I went through SOMETHING SIMILAR with my deceased ex and the SSA rules are SO FRUSTRATING!! They have all these complex rules that nobody tells you about until it's too late! I was 45 when my ex passed and I couldn't get anything either because I hadn't reached the magic age of 60. It seems so unfair that we were married for years, they earned those benefits partly during our marriage, but we can't access them when we need them most!!!
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Julian Paolo
•I feel your pain. The system is complicated and the rules seem arbitrary. Sorry you went through that.
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Ella Knight
To summarize the eligibility requirements for ex-spouse survivor benefits: 1. Your marriage must have lasted at least 10 years (you meet this with 13 years) 2. You must be at least age 60 (age 50 if disabled) 3. You must be unmarried OR have remarried after age 60 (age 50 if disabled) Since you're 40 and remarried before age 60, you don't qualify for survivor benefits on your ex-husband's record. However, it's worth noting that if your current marriage ends (divorce or death), you could potentially claim survivor benefits on your first husband's record once you reach age 60.
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Katherine Ziminski
•Thank you for this detailed breakdown. I appreciate knowing that there might be eligibility later if my circumstances change. I'll keep this information for the future.
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William Schwarz
I've been trying to reach someone at SSA about a similar issue for weeks! If you're struggling to get through on the phone, I discovered a service called Claimyr that got me connected to a real SSA agent in under 10 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Totally worth it for me - the agent was able to answer all my survivors benefit questions and saved me hours of frustration.
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Lauren Johnson
•Does that really work? I've been calling for 3 days straight and keep getting disconnected or told to call back later. Might try this if it actually gets you through to someone.
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William Schwarz
•It absolutely worked for me! I was skeptical too but was desperate after trying for days. The SSA agent I spoke with was really helpful and confirmed exactly what others here have said about the ex-spouse survivors benefit rules.
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Julian Paolo
Sorry to hear about your ex-husband passing away. It's tough navigating all this stuff during such a difficult time.
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Katherine Ziminski
•Thank you for the kind words. It's been a complicated situation even though we've been divorced for years.
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Vanessa Chang
wait so if she gets divorced again and then turns 60 she can get the benefits? thats kinda weird lol
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Ella Knight
•Yes, that's correct. If her current marriage ends (either through divorce or death of her current spouse) before she turns 60, then once she reaches 60, she could apply for survivor benefits on her ex-husband's record. The Social Security rules can seem strange, but they're designed to provide support to those who were financially dependent on someone for a significant period (hence the 10-year marriage requirement) while also managing program costs.
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Lauren Johnson
I got confused with all the survivor benefit rules myself. Isn't there something called "mother's benefits" or "father's benefits" if you have a child with the deceased? Does that apply in your situation or do you not have children together?
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Noah Irving
•You're thinking of mother's/father's benefits, which allow a surviving divorced spouse of any age to collect benefits if they're caring for the deceased ex-spouse's child who is under 16 or disabled. But this only applies if the child is receiving benefits on the deceased parent's record. Since the original poster didn't mention having children with her ex-husband, and given that she's now 40 (meaning any children would likely be older than 16), this provision probably doesn't apply to her situation.
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Katherine Ziminski
•We don't have children together, so that rule wouldn't apply to me. But thank you for bringing it up - might be helpful for someone else reading this thread!
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Madison King
The WHOLE system is designed to make us fail!!! I filed for my own retirement at 62 and got a PATHETIC amount because I took time off to raise kids. Meanwhile my ex will get FULL benefits even though I supported HIM through graduate school!! The system is COMPLETELY unfair to women, especially those of us who divorced before our spouses hit their peak earning years!!!
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Ella Knight
•While I understand your frustration, there are some provisions that help in situations like yours. If you were married 10+ years, you can claim spousal benefits on your ex's record (up to 50% of their benefit) if that would be higher than your own benefit, even if you're divorced. This specifically helps people who had lower earnings due to family caregiving. You can contact SSA to see if you might qualify for a higher benefit amount through this provision.
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Julian Paolo
My neighbor was in kinda the same boat and she ended up just focusing on building her own retirement instead. Probably better in the long run anyway.
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Katherine Ziminski
•You're right - that's what I'll need to do. I've got a good job now and have been contributing to my 401k, so I'll just keep focusing on that. It was worth asking though!
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