Will remarriage end my Social Security survivor benefits? Confused about spousal top-up eligibility timing

You're in luck! The remarriage rules for Social Security survivor benefits are age-based. If you remarry before age 60, you will lose your survivor benefits. But if you wait until 60 or later to remarry, you can keep collecting them. Since you're 58 now and planning to marry next year at 59, you might want to consider postponing the wedding until after your 60th birthday to maintain those benefits. As for spousal benefits based on your new husband's record, you would be eligible after you've been married for at least one year. There's no automatic deemed filing for spousal benefits - you would need to apply for them. Once you reach your Full Retirement Age (probably 67 for you), you could then choose whichever benefit is higher: your continued survivor benefit from your first husband OR the spousal benefit from your new husband (which would be up to 50% of his benefit amount at his FRA).

u cant have both benefits at the same time!!! my mom tried this and SSA made her pick one. its either survivors OR spousal, not both!!! be careful what u decide

I went through this exact situation last year. Here's what I learned from my experience: 1. Survivor benefits STOP if you remarry before age 60 (age 50 if disabled) 2. If you remarry at 60+, you keep eligibility for survivor benefits 3. For spousal benefits on new spouse, you must be married 1 year before applying 4. At FRA, SSA will pay the HIGHER of the two benefits, not both I waited until my 60th birthday to remarry specifically to keep my options open. Best decision I made! I recommend speaking directly with SSA before making your decision - calling early morning when they first open helped me avoid long wait times.

Has anyone used Claimyr to reach Social Security directly? I was in a similar situation last year with survivor benefits questions and spent days trying to get through. A friend recommended Claimyr (claimyr.com) - they have this service where they wait on hold with SSA and call you when an agent picks up. Saved me hours of frustration! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. For complicated benefit questions like this remarriage situation, speaking directly with SSA is really the best option.

My sister just went thru this!!! She got remaried at 59 and LOST her surviver benefits!! She was SOOO MAD bcuz nobody told her about the age 60 rule! If ur getting maried next year WAIT til ur 60th birthday!!!!!!

The rules about this are so confusing! I got different answers from 2 different SS reps when I called about something similar. Here's what I've learned through experience - you can't get both benefits at the same time, but you CAN apply for both and get the higher amount. SS calls this the "greater of" rule. Also important - if your future husband hasn't applied for his benefits yet, you can't get spousal benefits based on his record until he does file (even if he's eligible but delaying).

To clarify some confusion in this thread: if you remarry at or after 60, you preserve your right to survivor benefits. After a year of marriage, you'd be eligible for spousal benefits on your new husband's record. At that point, you have options: 1. Continue receiving survivor benefits if they're higher 2. Switch to spousal benefits if they're higher (up to 50% of your new husband's FRA amount) This gives you financial flexibility. When you reach your own FRA, you should contact SSA for a benefits calculation to see which option maximizes your monthly payment. This is a case where timing really matters - that 60th birthday is a critical threshold for survivor benefits and remarriage.

I used Claimyr when dealing with my survivor benefit questions. The rep I got actually explained that in some very specific situations, you can get PARTIAL concurrent benefits - if your survivor benefit is higher than your spousal benefit, you'll get the full survivor benefit. If your spousal would be higher, you'll get the survivor benefit plus the difference to equal the spousal amount. That's why it's so important to speak with SSA directly about your specific situation. Their website is claimyr.com if you want to avoid the hold times.

just wondering... has anyone checked if the marriage would affect other benefits?? my friend lost her Medicare help when she remarried becuz her new husbands income counted against her!! something to think about

I just wanted to update everyone and say THANK YOU for all the helpful information! I've decided to postpone the wedding until right after my 60th birthday so I can keep my options open with the survivor benefits. I've got an appointment with my local SSA office next month to go over everything and make sure I understand all the implications. This forum has been such a lifesaver - I never would have known about the age 60 rule otherwise!

I'm so glad you found this community helpful! Your decision to wait until 60 to remarry is really smart - it gives you maximum flexibility with your benefits. One thing I'd add is to make sure you get everything in writing from SSA when you meet with them. I've learned that different representatives sometimes give slightly different interpretations of the rules, so having your specific situation documented can be really valuable. Also, don't forget to factor in any cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) that might affect your benefits between now and when you'd potentially switch. Wishing you all the best with your upcoming marriage and navigating these complex benefit rules!

I'm a newcomer here but have been following Social Security issues closely as I approach retirement age myself. This thread has been incredibly educational! I wanted to add a few points that might help others in similar situations: First, for those mentioning Claimyr - I haven't used them personally, but I've found that calling SSA right when they open at 7 AM local time significantly reduces wait times. I usually get through within 15-20 minutes versus hours later in the day. Second, something that hasn't been mentioned much is the impact of Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) on your decision-making timeline. Survivor benefits receive annual COLA increases, which can compound over time. If you're comparing current survivor benefits to potential future spousal benefits, factor in several years of COLA growth on the survivor side. Finally, I'd strongly recommend creating a simple spreadsheet to track different scenarios - survivor benefits with COLA growth versus spousal benefits at different application ages. This helped me tremendously when evaluating my own Social Security strategy. The SSA.gov website has benefit calculators that can help with projections, though nothing beats getting official calculations from a representative for your specific situation. Everyone's advice about getting everything in writing and keeping detailed records is spot-on. These benefit rules are complex and having documentation protects you if there are any future discrepancies.