Can I claim Social Security widow benefits with CSRS pension and remarriage after 60?

Yes, you should still be eligible for widow's benefits! Since you remarried after age 60, that remarriage doesn't prevent you from claiming widow's benefits on your first husband's record. However, your CSRS pension will trigger the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which typically reduces survivor benefits by 2/3 of your government pension amount. For example, if your CSRS pension is $3,000 monthly, then $2,000 (2/3 of $3,000) would be deducted from your potential widow's benefit. So if your widow's benefit would be $1,800, after the GPO you'd only receive $0 since the offset is more than the benefit amount. But if the widow's benefit would be $2,500, you might still get $500 after the offset. I'd recommend scheduling an appointment with SSA to have them calculate the exact numbers for your situation.

ur CSRS is probly going to wipe out most or all of the widow benfit. GPO takes 2/3 of ur pension off the top. but still worth checking cause if ur husband had really high SS earnings you might get something. also depends on what age u take it, FRA gives u 100% of his benefit (before GPO) but early is less

The remarriage rules and GPO rules operate independently. Since you remarried after age 60, you CAN claim widow benefits based on your first husband's record. However, the Government Pension Offset will still apply. The GPO will reduce your widow benefit by 2/3 of your CSRS pension. Example: - If your CSRS pension is $4,200/month - 2/3 of that is $2,800 - If your potential widow benefit is $2,500/month - After GPO: $0 because the reduction is more than the benefit BUT if your husband had very high lifetime earnings, it's possible you could still get something. I'd suggest getting your husband's earnings history and benefit estimate from SSA to do a proper calculation. And very important - even if the GPO eliminates your benefit now, if your CSRS pension ever decreases (some federal pensions have survivor benefit reductions), you might become eligible for some widow benefits later.

Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to Social Security? I was in a similar situation trying to figure out my CSRS offset and widow benefits and couldn't get anyone at SSA on the phone for weeks. A friend told me about claimyr.com and they got me through to a real person at Social Security in about 20 minutes. There's a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - definitely worth it to avoid the constant busy signals and disconnections. The agent I spoke with ran all the calculations for me and I found out I was eligible for a small benefit despite my pension.

I work with federal retirees, and this situation comes up frequently. Here's what you need to know: 1. The remarriage after 60 rule does allow you to claim widow benefits despite remarrying 2. The GPO will still reduce those benefits by 2/3 of your CSRS pension 3. There are NO exceptions to GPO for CSRS employees (some people confuse this with the WEP exceptions) What I recommend: - Get an official benefit calculation from SSA - Have them calculate what your widow benefit would be at different claiming ages (62, FRA, 70) - Check if your husband had exceptionally high earnings that might result in a benefit that exceeds your GPO reduction In about 80% of CSRS cases I see, the GPO eliminates widow benefits entirely, but it's still worth checking. Also important - if you had any substantial earnings under Social Security yourself (40+ quarters), you might want to look at your own retirement benefit too, though WEP would affect that.

My mother went through exactly this - CSRS pension and widow benefits. After all the calculations, she got a whopping $37 a month in widow benefits because her pension offset was so large. But hey, that's still $444 a year she wouldn't have otherwise! Definitely worth applying even if you only get a small amount.

my aunt got hit by GPO and WEP both...worked 18 yrs for the post office (CSRS) and 22 yrs in private sector. her own SS benefit got WEP'd and her widow benefit got GPO'd. ended up with just $220/mo from SS plus her CSRS pension. system is so confusing

One more thing to consider - if your current spouse (the one you remarried at 63) passes away, you could potentially claim widow benefits on THEIR record too. In that scenario, you'd get the higher of the two widow benefits (after GPO reduction), not both. Something to keep in mind for future planning.