Will my new marriage at 60 affect ex-spouse Social Security benefits? 10-year rule questions

nope u dont have to be married 10 yrs for HIM to collect on YOUR record! the 10 yr rule is for divorced spouses to collect on their EX's record. since hes gonna be ur current husband, he can get up to 50% of ur benefit when he reaches full retirement age if its more than his own benefit. for survivor benefits he just has to be married to u for 9 months before u pass away unless its an accident then its different i think

I think there's some confusion here. Let me clarify the rules: 1. For SPOUSAL BENEFITS: Your new husband can receive up to 50% of your full retirement benefit once he reaches his full retirement age (which would be 67 for someone age 53), but only if that amount exceeds his own benefit. There's no 10-year marriage requirement for current spouses. 2. For SURVIVOR BENEFITS: Generally, your spouse must be married to you for at least 9 months before your death to qualify for survivor benefits (up to 100% of your benefit). There are exceptions to this length-of-marriage requirement in cases of accidental death or military service deaths. 3. Your PRIOR MARRIAGE: Since your previous marriage lasted less than 10 years, your ex-spouse cannot claim benefits on your record. And your remarriage won't affect any benefits based on your own work record. Hope this helps!

I went through something similar last year! The Social Security rules are SO confusing. I remarried at 62 after being divorced for 15 years. What nobody told me was that by remarrying, I lost the ability to claim on my ex-husband's record (we were married 22 years). So definitely check if you could get higher benefits by claiming on your ex-spouse's record BEFORE you remarry! But in your case since you were only married 7 years to your ex, you wouldn't qualify for ex-spousal benefits anyway, so nothing to lose by remarrying. And YES, the 9-month rule for survivor benefits is correct.

WHY does everyone say Social Security is simple?!? The rules are TERRIBLE and the SSA phone lines are even WORSE! I spent THREE HOURS trying to get through last month when I had questions about my benefits after my husband died, and I kept getting disconnected. RIDICULOUS system that punishes seniors!

Some important points nobody has mentioned yet: 1. Your new husband being 53 means he can't claim spousal benefits for several years anyway (earliest would be age 62, but with significant reductions) 2. There's an important consideration about your filing strategy - if you claim your own retirement benefits early (before your FRA), and then your husband later claims spousal benefits, his spousal benefits will be reduced if you filed early 3. Since your new husband is 7 years younger than you, you should also think about how survivor benefits might play out if you pass away first - he would have to wait until at least age 60 to claim survivor benefits You might want to schedule an appointment with SSA to discuss your specific situation. Their representatives can run calculations based on both your earnings records.

btw my sister works at SSA and she says SO MANY people dont realize that if u get married after 60 it doesnt affect ur ability to claim ex-spouse benefits from a 10+ yr marriage... but that doesnt apply to u anyway since ur first marriage was only 7 yrs. just sharing in case others reading have longer marriages in their past!

Another thing to consider - if your fiancé has been married before, getting married to you could potentially affect HIS ability to claim ex-spouse benefits if that marriage lasted 10+ years. Just something else to think about! These Social Security rules have so many little details that most people don't know about until it's too late.

My uncle just got married at 72 and they didn't have to worry about any of this because they both already started collecting their benefits years ago. maybe u should just wait til ur both on ss before getting married? lol jk congrats on finding love later in life!

Just wanted to add one more thing that might be helpful - since you mentioned your work record is solid, make sure to check if you might qualify for delayed retirement credits by waiting past your full retirement age to claim. If you're the higher earner between you and your fiancé, maximizing your benefit through delayed credits (up to age 70) could really boost the survivor benefit he'd eventually receive. It's worth running the numbers to see if delaying your claim makes sense for your overall household strategy, especially with that 7-year age gap!

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the importance of keeping good records of your marriage date once you do get married. SSA will need proof of your marriage for any spousal or survivor benefit claims, and having your marriage certificate readily available will make the process much smoother down the road. Also, if either of you has children from previous relationships, getting married could potentially affect their ability to claim benefits on your records in certain situations (like if they're disabled adult children). It's probably worth asking SSA about that specific scenario if it applies to your situation. Overall though, it sounds like marriage won't negatively impact your Social Security benefits - just make sure you both understand the timing of when different benefits become available!