Can both ex-wife and current spouse claim Social Security survivor benefits from same deceased husband?

Yes, both your mother and stepmother CAN potentially receive survivor benefits based on your father's record. This is one of the few situations where Social Security allows multiple people to collect on one person's record. Here are the requirements: - Your mother: Must have been married to him for at least 10 years, be at least 60 years old (50 if disabled), and not currently married (or remarried after age 60) - Your stepmother: As the widow who was married to him at the time of death, she qualifies as long as she's at least 60 (50 if disabled) or caring for his child under 16 Both women would receive their own survivor benefit amount based on your father's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), their ages when they claim, and other factors. It doesn't reduce either benefit that both are collecting.

my friend had this EXACT situation!!! both her mom and stepmom got survivors benefits from her dad. they both had to apply seperately and neither one knew about the other one getting benefits until later! SSA doesnt tell them

I work as a benefits counselor, and this is absolutely correct. Multiple survivors can collect on one worker's record as long as they each qualify under their own circumstances. The key points: 1. Ex-spouse survivor benefits require the 10-year marriage duration, which your mother meets 2. Current spouse survivor benefits have no duration requirement, though your stepmother clearly meets it with 24 years 3. Neither benefit reduces the other - they're calculated separately 4. Each must apply separately (Form SSA-10) 5. Both will need your father's death certificate and their marriage certificates 6. Your mother will also need the divorce decree Both should apply as soon as possible, as benefits are only backdated 6 months from application date at most.

I went through this with my mom. Getting through to Social Security is NIGHTMARE right now. My mom tried for 3 weeks and kept getting disconnected. She finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through - they call SSA and when they reach a live agent, they connect you. Saved her hours of frustration. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once she got through, the agent was actually very helpful about the survivor benefits process. Make sure both women have all their documents ready when they call - especially marriage and divorce paperwork, as SSA will need to verify both relationships.

wait so if a guy has like 5 ex wives who were all married to him for over 10 years they ALL can get survivors benefits??? seems like a loophole lol

what you need to know is that survivor benefits can be up to 100% of what he was getting (if claimed at FRA) so tell both of them not to claim early if they dont have to!!!! claiming at 60 means only 71.5% of his benefit forever!!!! big difference

my husband died in january and im STILL waiting for survivors benefit to start!!! applied right away and its been complete chaos. SS kept saying they needed more documents even after i sent everything. so frustrating! make sure they keep copies of EVERYTHING they submit and get names of anyone they talk to!!!

they both qualify BUT tell them to check if they get more from their OWN ss benefits. survivor benefits only make sense if your dad's amount is bigger than their own. my mom got widows benefits for 2 months until ssa realized her own benefit was $47 more. they switched her automatically