Will my Social Security benefits decrease if I get married at 65? Confused about marriage penalty
I'm turning 65 next month and finally planning to apply for my Social Security retirement benefits. Based on my earnings record, I should get about $1,400/month as a single person. But here's my situation - I've been dating someone for a few years, and we've been talking about getting married. Yesterday, my neighbor (who's 72) told me I'd lose some of my Social Security if I get married! Is this true? She said that's why she and her boyfriend live together but won't get married. I'm really confused because I worked my whole life for these benefits, and the thought of getting less just because I get married seems unfair. Has anyone dealt with this? Would my $1,400 really go down if I get married? I don't understand why marriage would affect benefits I earned through my own work.
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Zoe Alexopoulos
My mom and her boyfriend went through the EXACT same thing!! They decided NOT to get married because she would lose like $500 a month from her survivor benefits from my dad. But I think that's different than your situation? I'm not sure if regular retirement benefits change when you get married. Have you tried calling SSA? Good luck getting through tho lol
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Andre Lefebvre
•Thanks for responding! Hmm, your mom's situation sounds different since she was getting survivor benefits. I've never been married before so mine are just based on my own work. I tried calling SSA twice but got disconnected after waiting 45 minutes each time... so frustrating!
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Jamal Anderson
There's a lot of confusion about this topic. Your $1,400 retirement benefit based on your own work record will NOT decrease if you get married. The confusion stems from people receiving different types of benefits: 1. Your own retirement benefits (what you'll get) - Not affected by marriage 2. Spousal benefits - Can be affected by marriage 3. Survivor benefits - Can be affected by remarriage 4. SSI (Supplemental Security Income) - Can be affected by marriage Your neighbor may be receiving survivor benefits from a deceased spouse, which can indeed be reduced or eliminated upon remarriage before age 60. Or she might be on SSI, which is means-tested and considers household income. But regular Social Security retirement benefits based on your own work record are never reduced because of marriage. In fact, marriage might actually increase your potential benefits if your new spouse has a much higher benefit amount, as you might qualify for spousal benefits.
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Andre Lefebvre
•Oh thank you so much for explaining this! That makes much more sense now. I think my neighbor must be getting survivor benefits from her late husband, which would explain why marriage would affect her differently than me. What a relief to know my benefits won't be reduced!
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Mei Wong
Depends on what kinda benefits ur getting. Regular retirement no problem but widows benefits yes u lose them if u remarry. Also if ur getting SSI (thats different than regular social security) then ya marriage can mess that up becuz they count ur spouses income. But sounds like ur just getting regular SS retirement so ur fine
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QuantumQuasar
•This is correct - and to add some specifics: marriage doesn't impact retirement benefits based on your own work record. However, for SSI recipients, marriage means both incomes are counted together, possibly reducing or eliminating eligibility. For survivors receiving benefits from a deceased spouse, remarriage before FRA can terminate those benefits. The most important thing is understanding which type of benefit you're receiving.
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Liam McGuire
My sister went through this last year!!!! Her social security DID go down after she got married but that was because she was getting her ex-husband's benefit which was higher than her own. Something about how you can collect on an ex-spouse if you were married 10+ years but if you remarry you lose that. So complicated!!!
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Jamal Anderson
•You're exactly right about ex-spousal benefits. If you were married for at least 10 years, you can claim benefits on an ex-spouse's record (up to 50% of their FRA benefit), but remarriage terminates eligibility for ex-spousal benefits. The OP's situation is different since they're receiving their own retirement benefits, which aren't affected by marriage status.
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Amara Eze
I spent HOURS trying to get through to SSA about a similar question last month. After being on hold forever and getting disconnected twice, I found this service called Claimyr that got me connected to a real SSA agent in about 20 minutes. They basically call SSA for you and then connect you when they reach an agent. Saved me so much frustration! Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU When I finally talked to SSA, they confirmed that regular retirement benefits from your own work record aren't affected by marriage. Hope this helps!
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Andre Lefebvre
•Thanks for this tip! I'm definitely going to check out that service. After getting disconnected twice, I was about ready to give up on calling them. I really appreciate knowing that my concerns were confirmed by an actual SSA agent too.
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Giovanni Greco
congrats on the potential marriage! dont let government benefits dictate your happiness, my friend. life is too short!
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Andre Lefebvre
•Thank you for the kind words! You're absolutely right. Now that I understand my benefits won't be affected, we can move forward with our plans. It's just such a relief to know.
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Zoe Alexopoulos
Doesn't the income tax situation change too when ur married? Like u might pay more taxes on ur social security if ur combined income is higher? Not sure but I think I read that somewhere....
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QuantumQuasar
•Yes, taxation of Social Security benefits can be affected by marriage. As a single filer, your benefits are taxable if your combined income (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of SS benefits) exceeds $25,000. For married filing jointly, the threshold is $32,000. So depending on the new spouse's income, marriage could potentially result in more of your Social Security benefits being subject to taxation. This isn't a reduction in benefits, but it could affect net income after taxes.
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Jamal Anderson
One more thing to consider - if your potential spouse has a significantly higher Social Security benefit than your $1,400, marriage might actually INCREASE your total household benefits. As a spouse, you'd be eligible for up to 50% of your spouse's benefit amount if that's higher than your own. So depending on your fiancé's work history, marriage could be financially beneficial from a Social Security perspective.
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Mei Wong
•This 👆 My aunt actually got MORE money after she got married cuz her new husband had way higher SS than her own. Win win!
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Giovanni Greco
I heard there's some kinda special rule if ur a federal employee or teacher too??
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QuantumQuasar
•Yes, you're thinking of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). These can reduce Social Security benefits for people who worked in jobs not covered by Social Security (like some government or teaching positions) and receive pensions from that work. Marriage itself doesn't trigger these provisions - they apply based on your own work history and pension receipt. But they can affect spousal benefits in some circumstances.
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