Will living separately from spouse for years affect Social Security survivor benefits?

Yes, you'd still be eligible for survivor benefits. As long as you're legally married at the time of death, living arrangements don't matter to Social Security. The key requirements are being married for at least 9 months (which you far exceed) and not remarried before age 60 if you're the surviving spouse. When the time comes, the survivor would receive either their own benefit or the deceased spouse's benefit, whichever is higher. You might want to consider this when deciding when each of you should claim your own retirement benefits.

my parents did this for years. dad lived in florida mom in michigan, still married on paper. when dad died mom got his SS no problem. SSA doesnt care where u live as long as your still legally married

Just to provide some additional technical information: There's a difference between being "separated" and being "legally separated." A legal separation is a formal court process similar to divorce, and in some states, legal separation can potentially affect survivor benefits. But simply living apart without legal separation (as in your case) has no effect on Social Security survivor benefits. When applying for survivor benefits, the SSA primarily verifies: 1. The valid marriage certificate 2. The duration of marriage (minimum 9 months in most cases) 3. Current marital status of the survivor They don't investigate living arrangements. So as long as you remain legally married, the survivor would be eligible for benefits based on the deceased spouse's record.

You also need to look at how the survivor benefits compare to your own retirement. If you both work and earn similar amounts, survivor benefits might not even matter much. My husband and I went through this calculation - I'll only get about $200 more per month with his benefit than my own when he passes. After 40 years together, just $200! The system isn't as generous as people think.

Has anyone tried calling SSA to get a straight answer about this? I waited on hold for THREE HOURS last month trying to ask a similar question about my divorced sister's benefits and then got disconnected!!! The website is useless for specific situations like this.

Thank you all for the helpful responses! This puts my mind at ease knowing that our current living situation won't affect survivor benefits. I was worried the SSA might have some obscure rule about spouses needing to live together. We do have different earning histories - my wife has consistently earned about 40% more than me throughout our careers. So it sounds like if she passes first, her benefit would be more valuable to me than my own. I'll definitely look at our earnings records and do some planning for when we should each claim our benefits to maximize what's available to the survivor. Still a decade away, but good to understand how it works now.

just make sure u keep good records. my mom had to show marriage certificate and prove she wasnt remarried. death certificate had wrong info about dads marital status and that caused problems

Since you mentioned the earnings difference, here's something to consider: When you're both alive, the optimal claiming strategy can be complex. But for survivor benefits, the key thing to understand is that when one spouse dies, the survivor gets to keep the HIGHER of the two benefit amounts, not both. So if your wife has the higher benefit, you might want her to delay claiming as long as possible (up to age 70) to maximize the survivor benefit you'd receive if she passes first. Her benefit grows 8% per year from FRA to age 70, and that growth would pass to you as the survivor. For your own benefit, the claiming strategy might be different depending on your health, other income sources, and when you plan to stop working.

I'm new to this community but dealing with a similar situation. My husband and I have been living separately for about 8 years now (different states actually - he's in Arizona, I'm in Oregon) but we're still legally married. Reading through all these responses is really helpful! One thing I wanted to add based on my research: if you're thinking about filing for your own Social Security benefits while still married, you might also be eligible for spousal benefits if your spouse is already receiving their retirement benefits. Sometimes the spousal benefit (50% of your spouse's benefit at full retirement age) can be higher than your own benefit, even if you're living apart. Just another angle to consider when you're doing your benefit planning. The living situation really doesn't seem to matter to SSA as long as the marriage is still legal.