Social Security survivor benefits confusion - can I claim from ex-spouse if current spouse dies first?

You've got it partially right, but there are some important details you should know. Since you remarried before 60, you generally cannot claim survivor benefits on your ex-spouse's record, even if your current spouse passes away. The rule is that you must be unmarried OR have remarried after age 60 to be eligible for survivor benefits from a deceased ex-spouse. However, if your current marriage ends (either by death or divorce), you COULD then become eligible for survivor benefits from your ex-spouse if he has passed away by that point. The order of death between your current spouse and ex-spouse doesn't matter for eligibility purposes. Since you were married to your ex for over 10 years, you meet the duration requirement for ex-spouse benefits. Just remember that survivor benefits are different from spousal benefits - different rules apply.

My mom went through something similar and the SSA told her totally different things each time she called!!! So frustrating! I think you should just call them directly and ask but good luck getting through lol

Let me clarify exactly how this works: 1. If your current husband passes away, you would be eligible for survivor benefits on his record. 2. If your ex-husband passes away while you're still married to your current husband, you CANNOT claim survivor benefits on your ex's record because you remarried before age 60. 3. If your current marriage ends (through death or divorce) AND THEN your ex passes away, you could claim survivor benefits on your ex's record. 4. If your current marriage ends (through death or divorce) AFTER your ex has already passed away, you still cannot claim survivor benefits on your ex's record because you were married to someone else at the time of his death AND had remarried before 60. The key factor is your marital status at the time of your ex-spouse's death, combined with whether you remarried before or after 60. The order of death between your current husband and ex does matter in determining eligibility.

i went thru something similar and let me tell u, it depends on which ssa person u talk to!! they all tell u different things. my cousin was told one thing and then when she went to file they said something completely different!!

I've seen SO MANY people get wrong information about this exact situation! The SSA phone reps often misunderstand these complicated rules. If you're trying to plan ahead, I'd recommend documenting everything carefully. If your ex's benefit would be substantially higher, you might want to run the numbers on different scenarios. One thing nobody mentioned - if your current spouse passes away, you get survivor benefits from him. Then if you were to divorce and remain unmarried until 60, and THEN remarry someone else, you could potentially keep those survivor benefits from your second husband. Social Security rules are INCREDIBLY complicated when multiple marriages are involved!

YOU ARE GETTING INCORRECT INFORMATION!!! I just went through this EXACT scenario with my aunt. She remarried at 58 after divorcing her husband of 25 years. Current husband died first, then ex died 2 years later. SSA DENIED her claim for benefits on her ex's record specifically BECAUSE she was married at the time of his death AND had remarried before 60!!! Don't believe what people tell you here - go straight to SSA and get it in writing!!! The order of deaths ABSOLUTELY MATTERS in this scenario!!

Have you tried calling the Social Security office? I know it can be really frustrating to get through to them. I spent 3 weeks trying to get someone on the phone about my disability claim - always on hold for hours then disconnected. I finally found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in under 2 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU They basically call SSA for you and then call you when they have an agent on the line. Totally worth it for complicated situations like yours where you need answers directly from SSA. With rules this complex about multiple marriages and timing, I wouldn't trust forum advice alone.

Just to be absolutely clear about the rules (since there's some confusion in the comments): To receive survivor benefits on an ex-spouse's record, you must: 1. Have been married to that ex-spouse for at least 10 years (you meet this at 22 years) 2. Be at least 60 years old (or 50 if disabled) when applying 3. NOT be entitled to a higher benefit on your own record 4. Be unmarried OR have remarried after turning 60 (or 50 if disabled) The critical part for your situation is that when your ex-spouse dies, if you are married to someone else AND you remarried before turning 60, you permanently lose eligibility for survivor benefits from that ex-spouse. The timing matters tremendously here. This is why getting accurate information directly from SSA is so important for planning purposes.

You've received good information about the specific rules, but I'd recommend also thinking about how this affects your overall retirement strategy. Since you're 58, you're approaching the age where you need to start making decisions about when to claim your own retirement benefits. Your own retirement benefit at Full Retirement Age (FRA) is completely separate from any potential survivor benefits. You should consider whether maximizing your own benefit by waiting until 70 might be advantageous, especially given the uncertainty around survivor benefits. The SSA's website has some good calculators, but this is definitely a situation where speaking directly with them about your specific circumstance is worthwhile.