Can I qualify for SS survivor benefits with only 9-month marriage from 26 years ago?

Yes, you CAN get survivor benefits! The 9-month duration of marriage requirement is exactly what SSA requires for widow(er) benefits in most cases. Since you said you were married exactly 9 months, you should meet that threshold. There are even exceptions to the 9-month rule in cases of accidental death or military service, but it sounds like you won't need those exceptions. At your FRA (which is 66 + a few months depending on your birth year), you'd be eligible for 100% of his Primary Insurance Amount. I'd recommend applying right away since you're already 66.

my sister tried to get survivor benefits from her husband who died after 11 months of marriage and ss gave her the runaround for MONTHS before finally approving it. make sure you have your marriage certificate and his death certificate before you even start. and be prepared to fight them on it!!!

I had a similar situation but we were married for 8 months, and I was denied. My understanding is that the 9-month requirement is a MINIMUM - you need to be married AT LEAST 9 months. If you were married exactly 9 months, you should qualify. Get your marriage certificate, his death certificate, his Social Security number (if you have it), and your birth certificate ready. Also, regarding WHEN to claim - it depends on your own work record. If your survivor benefit would be higher than your own retirement benefit, you could claim your own reduced retirement now and switch to survivors at your FRA for the maximum amount. Or vice versa. SSA should calculate the best option for you.

They count it by days! My mom went through this. Need exactly 9 months which is like 274 days i think

Actually, the SSA typically uses calendar months for the 9-month duration requirement, not exact days. So if you were married on January 15th and your spouse passed away on October 15th, that would count as 9 months. There are exceptions to the 9-month rule if death was accidental or occurred in the line of duty for military service. But regardless, if it's been exactly 9 months, you should qualify. At age 66, you're at or very near your Full Retirement Age (FRA), which means you'd be eligible for 100% of your deceased husband's benefit amount. The real strategy question is whether to take your own retirement benefit or the survivor benefit. You can take one now and switch to the other later if it would result in a higher payment. Also, don't worry about the 26-year gap - there's no time limit for applying for survivor benefits. However, they will only pay up to 6 months of retroactive benefits, so don't delay your application.

my condolences on your loss even tho it was long ago. grief stays with us doesn't it? i think everyone here gave you good advice but just wanted to say good luck with everything!!!

If you're having trouble getting through to Social Security on the phone, I'd highly recommend using Claimyr. It was a game changer for me when I was dealing with survivor benefits last year. It gets you through to a live SSA agent usually within 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours or getting disconnected. I was skeptical at first but it actually works - you can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once you get through to an agent, ask them to check if your marriage duration qualifies. They can look at the exact requirements for your specific situation since there are sometimes exceptions to the 9-month rule. The website is claimyr.com - definitely worth it instead of calling dozens of times.

DONT BELIEVE WHAT THEY TELL YOU ABOUT THE 9 MONTH RULE!!!! The government changes the rules whenever they want!! My friend was married 11 months and they STILL denied her!!! They said some nonsense about her husband's work credits or whatever. The whole system is designed to DENY benefits we DESERVE!!!!

Thank you everyone for your helpful responses! I've gathered all my documents - found the marriage certificate and death certificate after digging through some old files. I'm going to try calling SSA tomorrow morning, and if I can't get through, I'll look into that Claimyr service someone mentioned. I've calculated the exact marriage duration and it was 9 months and 2 days, so it sounds like I should qualify. I'll update once I get some answers from SSA. Fingers crossed!

One important thing to consider - you mentioned you're 66 now. Depending on your exact birth year, your Full Retirement Age might be 66 plus a few months. If you're not quite at your FRA yet, you might want to wait until then to apply for the survivor benefit to get the full 100%. Or if your own retirement benefit is significantly lower, you could apply for your own reduced retirement benefit now and then switch to the survivor benefit at your FRA. The SSA can calculate which strategy would give you the highest lifetime benefits.