Survivor benefits after remarriage at 60 - can I keep my late husband's Social Security?

I'm fairly certain that if you remarry before age 60, you cannot collect survivors benefits on your prior deceased spouse's record. BUT I think you're right that there's a special rule if you remarry after turning 60! My aunt went through something similar. She waited till 60 to file for survivors benefits and then remarried at 62 and kept collecting her first husband's SS with no problem.

You can 100% remarry after age 60 and keep getting survivor benefits from your deceased spouse. This is directly from the SSA rules. My sister did this 2 years ago - remarried at 61 and kept receiving her late husband's SS with no problems at all.

Let me help clarify the rules here regarding survivor benefits and remarriage: 1. If you remarry BEFORE age 60, you generally cannot receive survivor benefits on your deceased spouse's record (with some exceptions for disability). 2. If you remarry AFTER age 60, you CAN continue receiving survivor benefits based on your deceased spouse's earnings record. 3. When you reach your own full retirement age (FRA), you might want to switch to your own retirement benefit if it would be higher than the survivor benefit. 4. If your new spouse is also collecting Social Security, you might be eligible for spousal benefits on their record if that amount would be higher than either your survivor benefits or your own retirement benefit. So yes, your plan to claim survivor benefits at 60 and then possibly remarry after 60 is sound - you would not lose those survivor benefits upon remarriage.

i went thru this exact same thing!!! waited til 60 to get my late husbands ss then got married again at 62. you dont lose the benefits but you MUST report the marriage to ssa within 10 days or they will say you committed fraud. theres a form you fill out to report the change but the payments keep coming

I work with a lot of widows and widowers navigating Social Security. The remarriage after 60 rule is one of the few bright spots in the survivor benefit regulations. One thing to consider: If you're eligible for retirement benefits on your own record, you might want to take those at your FRA (or even delay until 70 if they'd be higher), while taking survivor benefits at 60. Or vice versa - take reduced retirement at 62 and switch to survivors at your FRA for the maximum amount. It's one of the few remaining opportunities to switch between benefit types. Be aware that taking survivor benefits at 60 means taking them early - you'll get about 71.5% of what you would get if you waited until your full retirement age. This reduction is permanent.

Just wanted to say I'm so sorry for your loss. I lost my husband 3 years ago and know how hard it is. The Social Security rules are so complicated that I spent hours trying to figure it all out while grieving. It's just not fair that we have to deal with this financial stress on top of everything else.

I had the WORST time trying to get through to Social Security when I was applying for survivor benefits last year. Spent weeks calling and getting busy signals or being on hold for hours only to get disconnected. Finally found a service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual SSA agent in under 10 minutes. Was a total lifesaver for confirming all these remarriage rules we're discussing. Their site is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once I got through, the agent confirmed that remarriage after 60 doesn't affect survivor benefits. They also helped me understand how my own retirement benefits compared to the survivor benefits so I could choose the best option.

btw you should also look into whether your husband had a pension from work that might affect your benefits. my friend found out her husbands company pension reduced her SS survivors benefit because of some offset rule

Can I just say how crazy it is that if you remarry at 59 years and 364 days, you lose benefits, but if you wait ONE DAY and remarry at age 60, you're fine??? These Social Security rules make NO sense sometimes. Why should remarriage matter AT ALL for benefits you earned through your deceased spouse??

To address your follow-up question - yes, you should still notify SSA of your remarriage even though it won't affect your eligibility for survivor benefits. The reason is that your marital status is part of your SSA record and needs to be kept up-to-date. You can report this change by: 1. Calling SSA directly at 1-800-772-1213 2. Visiting your local SSA office 3. In some cases, updating your information through your my Social Security online account Additionally, your new marital status might actually open up new benefit options (like spousal benefits on your new husband's record if that would be higher than your survivor benefit).