Can I get Social Security survivor benefits after ex-spouse's death if divorced less than 2 years?

The 2-year divorce requirement isn't for survivor benefits - it's for SPOUSAL benefits when your ex is still alive. For survivor benefits (when an ex has passed away), there's no 2-year waiting period after divorce. You just need to have been married for at least 10 years before the divorce. The good news is that since you remarried after 60, you're still eligible for survivor benefits on your ex's record. Check this page: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/survivors/ifyou.html under 'If You're The Divorced Spouse of a Worker Who Dies.'

your confusing things. the 2 year rule is for disability benefits from a living ex-spouse not survivor benefits when they die. different rules apply.

I went through something similar when my ex died. Do you know if your ex-wife had enough work credits for survivor benefits? That's the first thing SSA will check. Also, did she have any other survivors like children under 16 or disabled adult children? Those factors affected my benefit amount.

The same thing happened to me last yr!!! My ex was on SSDI and died and I got widows benefits even tho we were divorced 19 months. I was NOT remarried tho so not sure about that part. The SSA office kept giving me run around took FOREVER to process my claim!!!

There's often confusion between different Social Security rules. To clarify: 1. For divorced spouse benefits (when ex is alive): You must be divorced for at least 2 years unless your ex is already collecting benefits 2. For surviving divorced spouse benefits: No 2-year divorce duration requirement exists Requirements for survivor benefits as a divorced spouse: - Marriage lasted at least 10 years - You're at least 60 (or 50 if disabled) - You're not entitled to a higher benefit on your own record - If remarried, the remarriage occurred after you turned 60 Based on what you've shared, you likely qualify. Contact SSA directly to apply.

I tried for WEEKS to get through to SSA about survivor benefits when my spouse died. Constant busy signals and disconnections. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - saved me so much stress during an already difficult time. Might be worth checking out if you're struggling to reach someone about your case.

Make sure u bring death certificate, marriage certificate, divorce papers, and ur id when u go to SSA. they always ask for more paperwork than u expect!!! good luck

One other thing to consider - will your current spouse's benefit be higher than what you'd get from your ex's record? If so, you might want to just stick with that when you reach full retirement age. SSA won't necessarily tell you which option is better financially, so you need to ask specific questions about potential amounts. I almost missed out on thousands by not comparing my options!

One more important note: survivors benefits can be claimed as early as age 60 (unlike retirement benefits which start at 62), but taking them early will permanently reduce the monthly amount. At 62, you'd receive about 81.2% of what you'd get at your full retirement age. Sometimes it makes financial sense to claim survivor benefits early and then switch to your own retirement benefit later (or vice versa). This strategy can maximize your lifetime benefits.