Can I get Social Security survivor benefits if I divorced after remarriage but before age 60?

Good news! Based on Social Security rules, you ARE eligible for survivor benefits from your first husband. The key requirements are: 1) You were married to your first husband for at least 9 months (you were married 22 years), and 2) You are currently unmarried OR your later marriage ended prior to age 60. Since your second marriage ended in divorce before you turned 60, you meet all the requirements. When you turn 60 next month, you can apply for the survivor benefit. Just make sure to bring both marriage certificates and the divorce decree to your appointment.

You're welcome! To answer your follow-up question: No, remarriage doesn't permanently disqualify you. The rule specifically allows for survivor benefits if your subsequent marriage ends (by death, divorce, or annulment) before you turn 60. If you were still married to your second husband, then you would be disqualified until that marriage ended. But since you divorced at 57, you're eligible when you turn 60. The SSA website can definitely be confusing on this point!

This may be a stupid question but does this mean she can collect on her ex-husband while he's still alive too? I get so confused between survivor benefits and divorced spouse benefits. Is there a difference in the amounts?

I just want to add that you might want to consider your filing strategy carefully. If you have your own work record, you could take the survivor benefit at 60 (though it will be reduced for claiming early) and then switch to your own retirement benefit at your FRA if it would be higher. Or vice versa. It depends on which benefit is higher and your financial needs. The SSA won't necessarily tell you about all your options, so it's worth doing some research.

Yes, you can take the survivor benefit as early as age 60 (at a reduced rate) and then switch to your own retirement benefit at FRA or even delay until 70 to maximize it. Or if your own benefit at 62 would be higher than the reduced survivor benefit, you could take your retirement at 62 and switch to the full survivor benefit at your FRA. A lot depends on the relative amounts. When you apply, make sure to ask about both options to see which filing strategy would give you the most money over your lifetime.

Getting actual help from SSA can be extremely frustrating. I spent WEEKS trying to get through on the phone to ask about my survivor benefits. Kept getting disconnected or waiting on hold for hours! I 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 - it was worth it to finally get a real person who could help me understand my options. Just thought I'd share since getting accurate info on these survivor benefits is so important!

Yes, it actually worked for me! I was skeptical too, but after spending a total of like 9 hours on hold over several days, I was desperate. Got connected to an SSA agent in about 5 minutes. The agent I spoke with was really helpful and explained all my survivor benefit options clearly.

OP I WAS IN YOUR EXACT SITUATION!! The SSA office told me I wasn't eligible at first becuz they didn't understand their OWN RULES!! I had to talk to a supervisor to get it straightened out. Bring EVERY document - marriage certificates, death certificate, divorce papers, birth certificate. They made me come back THREE TIMES because they kept asking for "one more document" each time. SO FRUSTRATING!!! But I did eventually get my benefits, and the backpay too.

my aunt had this issue too. one more thing to think about - the survivor benefit amount depends on when your first husband started taking his SS. if he took it early, your survivor benefit will be based on that reduced amount. my aunt was really surprised by how much less she got because my uncle had taken his benefits at 62.

When the worker passed before receiving benefits, the survivor benefit is based on what the worker would have received at their full retirement age, even if they died before that age. Since your husband passed at 58 without claiming benefits, your survivor benefit should be based on 100% of his Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) if you claim at your full retirement age. If you claim survivors benefits before your FRA, they'll be reduced based on how many months early you claim.

Has anyone else noticed how RIDICULOUS it is that we have to figure all this out ourselves?? The rules are so complicated and then they make it impossible to get help understanding them. My dad paid into the system for 45 years and when mom tried to claim his benefits after he died, it was like pulling teeth to get straight answers from SSA. The whole system needs to be simplified!