Will my current wife and ex-wife both qualify for Social Security spousal benefits on my record?
I'm trying to understand how Social Security spousal benefits work in my somewhat complicated situation. I'm turning 69 this year and planning to file for my retirement benefits after delaying past my FRA. I've been married to my current wife for 11 years. Before that, I was married to my ex-wife for 25 years, but she remarried over a decade ago and is already past her full retirement age. I need help figuring out: 1. What percentage of my Social Security benefit can my current wife claim when she reaches her full retirement age? 2. When I pass away, what survivor benefits would my current wife be entitled to? Does she get the same amount or a different percentage? 3. Since my ex-wife and I were married well over 10 years, can she still claim anything on my record even though she remarried years ago? I've tried calling SSA several times but keep getting disconnected. Any insights would be greatly appreciated!
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Dylan Campbell
Happy to help clarify this! For your questions: 1. Your current wife is eligible for 50% of your full retirement benefit amount when she reaches her Full Retirement Age (FRA). This is the standard spousal benefit rate. 2. When you pass away, your current wife would be eligible for survivor benefits equal to 100% of what you were receiving, assuming she's at her FRA when she claims. This completely replaces the spousal benefit. 3. Regarding your ex-wife: Since she remarried, she generally cannot collect spousal benefits on your record. When someone remarries, they lose eligibility for benefits from their ex-spouse's record. However, there's an exception for survivor benefits - if she were to become widowed or divorced from her current spouse, she could potentially claim on your record again, but only survivor benefits, not spousal benefits.
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StarStrider
•Thank you for the clear explanation! So my current wife gets 50% while I'm alive and then 100% of my benefit after I die (assuming she's at FRA). That makes sense. Just to double-check on my ex-wife's situation - since she remarried, she definitely can't claim on my record while I'm alive, correct? I wasn't planning to contact her about this, but I want to make sure I understand how the system works.
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Sofia Torres
You might also want to know that the 50% spousal benefit is only available if your wife doesn't qualify for her own SS benefit, or if her own benefit amount is less than 50% of yours. If her own benefit is higher, she'll just get her own amount. Also, if she claims before her FRA, both her own benefit and any spousal benefits will be permanently reduced. If you're having trouble reaching someone at Social Security, I've had great results using Claimyr (claimyr.com). They got me connected to a real agent in under 20 minutes after I spent days trying on my own. Here's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - it was a lifesaver for my complicated retirement questions!
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Dmitry Sokolov
•is that service really worth it? i tried calling ssa for 3 days straight last week and couldnt get through to anyone!!
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Sofia Torres
•For me it definitely was! I had a complex issue about my divorced spouse benefits that I couldn't resolve online, and after wasting almost a week trying to get through, Claimyr connected me to an agent in about 15 minutes. Saved me so much frustration. The video demo shows exactly how it works.
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Ava Martinez
The whole system is designed to be CONFUSING and keep people from getting their benefits! I went through something similar with my ex and current spouse. SSA gave me THREE different answers when I called. Then they told me I had to apply in person, waited 2 hours at the office, and they sent me home saying I should have just called!!! The right hand doesn't know what the left is doing there. And don't even get me started on their website...
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Miguel Ramos
•While the system can definitely be frustrating to navigate, there are some important technical distinctions that explain why these spousal/ex-spousal situations seem confusing. The rules are actually quite consistent, but they have specific requirements that need to be met. For the original poster: Your current wife's 50% spousal benefit is completely separate from any claims your ex-wife might make. Your ex-wife's remarriage does indeed disqualify her from spousal benefits on your record while she remains married. Your benefit amount is not reduced regardless of how many eligible spouses/ex-spouses claim on your record.
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QuantumQuasar
i just went through this last year! my husband is getting ready to start benefits at 68 and we had to figure out if i should take spousal now (im 64) or wait. decided to wait till my FRA to get the full 50%. but i didnt know survivor benefits would be 100%, thats good news
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Dylan Campbell
•That's a smart approach! By waiting until your FRA to claim spousal benefits, you avoid the early claiming reduction. And yes, survivor benefits provide 100% of the deceased spouse's benefit amount (including any delayed retirement credits they earned), which is significantly more than the 50% spousal benefit available while both spouses are living.
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Zainab Omar
My sister just dealt with this. Make sure your current wife knows she can either take her own SS benefits or 50% of yours (at FRA), whichever is higher. But not both! A lot of people don't realize that.
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Dmitry Sokolov
wait so does this mean once someone gets remarried they lose ALL access to their ex's benefits?? my mom was married to my dad for 22 years and then they divorced and she remarried like 2 years later. she just turned 65 and was counting on getting some of my dads SS since he made way more money than her or her new husband... this is gonna be bad news for her
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Miguel Ramos
•Yes, remarriage generally terminates eligibility for ex-spouse benefits. The only exception is if your mother's second marriage ends (either by death, divorce, or annulment), then she could potentially become eligible again for benefits on your father's record. However, there's an important exception for survivor benefits: If your mother remarried after age 60, she could still qualify for survivor benefits (when your father passes away) even while remaining married to her second husband. But for regular spousal benefits while your father is alive, the remarriage does disqualify her.
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StarStrider
Thank you all for the helpful information! I've learned a lot. To summarize what I understand now: 1. My current wife gets 50% of my benefit at her FRA (if that's more than her own benefit) 2. She'd get 100% survivor benefits after I pass away 3. My ex-wife can't claim on my record since she remarried I'll try using that Claimyr service to confirm these details directly with SSA. It's frustrating how difficult it is to reach them by phone these days.
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