Ex-spouse survivor benefits after 25-year marriage - how to apply without a death certificate?
My ex-husband passed away last weekend and I'm trying to figure out how to claim Social Security survivor benefits based on our 25-year marriage that ended several years ago. We're both 68, and I'm already collecting retirement benefits (getting the higher amount because of his earnings). I have no relationship with his current wife and don't know how to get his death certificate. Will Social Security know he died? Do I need to inform them? Will they automatically adjust my benefits or do I need to file something specific? I'm worried his current wife won't list me when she reports his death. Any advice on where to start this process would be incredibly helpful.
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Fiona Gallagher
First, I'm sorry for your loss. Good news - you don't need his death certificate to start the process. Call Social Security directly at 1-800-772-1213 to report his passing and inquire about survivor benefits based on your ex-spouse's record. Since you were married over 10 years (25 years qualifies!), you're eligible regardless of his current marital status. SSA will verify his death through their systems. They won't automatically adjust your benefits - you must apply specifically for survivor benefits, which may give you a higher monthly amount than what you're receiving now. Don't wait too long as there may be limitations on retroactive payments.
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Xan Dae
•Thank you so much! I've been so stressed about this. I'll call that number tomorrow morning. Is there anything specific I should mention when I call? And will they really be able to verify his death without me providing a certificate?
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Thais Soares
sorry about ur ex passing. same thing happend to me but i waited 2 months to apply and missed out on some $$$. defintely call them asap. the death gets reported to SSA by the funeral home usually so they probably already know but u still gotta apply for the survivors benefit yourself.
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Xan Dae
•Oh no, I didn't realize I could miss out on money by waiting! I'll definitely call first thing tomorrow. Thank you for the warning.
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Nalani Liu
I went through this exact situation two years ago! The most important thing to know is that when you apply for ex-spouse survivor benefits, the SSA will require proof of your marriage AND divorce. Make sure you have your marriage certificate and divorce decree ready! They didn't ask me for his death certificate because they had already received notification through their system. Here's what happened to my benefit: I was getting $2,100/month on my own record, but after applying for survivor benefits, it increased to $2,875/month (based on his higher earnings). The extra money was life-changing! Don't stress about his current wife - your claim is completely separate from hers and won't affect her benefits at all.
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Xan Dae
•This is SO helpful! I have my marriage certificate somewhere but I'll need to dig up the divorce decree. I'm getting around $2,200 now so it sounds like I might see a significant increase. Did they backdate your payments to when he passed away?
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Nalani Liu
•Yes, they backdated the payments to the month after he passed away. But be careful - if you wait more than 6 months to apply, you might lose some retroactive payments. So definitely don't delay! And one more thing - when I called the 800 number, I could never get through. I spent HOURS on hold and kept getting disconnected. Ended up having to schedule an in-person appointment which took weeks to get.
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Axel Bourke
I've been trying to call Social Security for THREE WEEKS about my husband's death benefits and STILL haven't reached a human!!! The phone system is IMPOSSIBLE and they're STILL not back to normal office hours after COVID!!! This system is DESIGNED to keep us from getting our benefits!!! Good luck even getting through to start your application!!!
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Aidan Percy
•Same. Took me 11 calls over 3 days to talk to someone about my mom's death. And then they told me I had the wrong department anyway lol
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Fernanda Marquez
•I had the same issue last month trying to sort out my retirement application. After days of frustration, I used a service called Claimyr that got me through to an SSA agent in under 30 minutes. It's at claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me days of stress when I needed to update my record. Might be worth considering since survivor benefits applications probably need to talk to an actual person.
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Norman Fraser
Let me clarify something important here - since you mentioned you're already receiving benefits based on your ex-husband's higher earnings record, what you're currently receiving is likely an "excess spousal benefit" (the difference between your own benefit and a percentage of his). When you apply for survivor benefits, the maximum you can receive is 100% of what your ex-husband was receiving (or would have received) at his full retirement age if that's higher than your current benefit. Important to note: Survivor benefits for ex-spouses only apply if you haven't remarried before age 60. If you remarried after 60, you're still eligible. Also, the local SSA office will likely request: - Your Social Security number and his - Your birth certificate - Your marriage certificate - Your divorce decree - Your bank information for direct deposits If you don't have all these documents immediately, still contact them to start the process.
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Xan Dae
•Thank you for explaining this! I haven't remarried, so that's not an issue. I'm confused about the "excess spousal benefit" though - when I retired at 65, they just told me I'd get more by claiming on his record than on my own. They didn't explain it was an "excess spousal benefit." So now with survivor benefits, should I expect to get the full amount he was receiving? He was getting around $3,100/month I believe.
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Norman Fraser
•Yes, that's exactly right. You were receiving what's called a "deemed spousal benefit" which is effectively your own retirement benefit plus an additional amount to bring you up to 50% of your ex-husband's primary insurance amount (PIA). Now as a surviving divorced spouse, you're eligible to receive up to 100% of what he was receiving. So if he was getting $3,100/month, that would become your new benefit amount, replacing your current benefit entirely. This is a significant increase that many people don't realize they're entitled to. The SSA won't automatically process this - you must specifically apply for it.
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Thais Soares
wait im confused... can u get survivors benefits from an ex? i thought that was just for if ur still married when they die?
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Fiona Gallagher
•Yes, you absolutely can get survivor benefits from an ex-spouse as long as your marriage lasted at least 10 years before the divorce. It's a commonly misunderstood benefit but very important for people who had long marriages and later divorced. The 10-year rule is critical though - even if you were married for 9 years and 11 months, you wouldn't qualify.
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Aidan Percy
My mom just went through this. Make sure you take your marriage license with you when you go to Social Security. Thats what they wanted to see the most.
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Xan Dae
•Thanks for the tip! Did your mom have to schedule an appointment or was she able to just walk in?
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Aidan Percy
•She had to make an appointment and waited like 3 weeks to get in. But it might be different where you live.
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Nalani Liu
Just to add to my earlier comment - be prepared for some confusion when you call or visit SSA. I had to explain several times that I was applying for ex-spouse survivor benefits. The first representative didn't seem familiar with the rules and almost turned me away! I had to politely ask to speak with a technical expert who confirmed I was eligible. So if someone tries to tell you that you don't qualify, don't give up - ask to speak with a supervisor or someone who specializes in survivor benefits for divorced spouses. The difference in my monthly amount was nearly $800, which adds up to over $9,500 per year!
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Xan Dae
•This is really good to know - I'll be sure to be persistent if I run into any confusion. I've printed out the information from the SSA website about divorced spouse survivor benefits just in case I need to refer to it. Thank you again for all your help!
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