Will remarriage reduce my $1867 Social Security retirement benefit at FRA?

Your own retirement benefit based on your work record stays exactly the same regardless of marital status. Marriage can only ADD additional benefits (like spousal or survivor) in certain circumstances, but it will never reduce your own earned benefit of $1867. I went through something similar last year - remarried at 64 and there was zero impact on my own retirement amount.

Thank you so much! That's a relief to hear. So even if my new husband has a lower benefit than me, they won't somehow average our benefits together or anything like that?

congrats on the relationship! my sister just remarried at 62 and her benefit stayed the same. its your work record so nothing changes there. but what does change is you might lose access to any ex-spouse benefits from your previous marriage if you remarry before 60.

Thanks! That's good to know about the ex-spouse benefits, but since they told me his wouldn't help me anyway (not high enough), I guess that doesn't matter in my case.

To give you the complete technical answer: Your own retirement insurance benefit (RIB) is based entirely on your own earnings record and Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) calculation. Marriage has absolutely no effect on this calculation or amount.The only way marriage affects Social Security is regarding access to certain auxiliary benefits:1. If you remarry, you generally cannot claim ex-spouse benefits from prior marriages (with some exceptions after age 60)2. You may gain access to spousal benefits from your new spouse if they exceed your own benefit3. You may eventually qualify for survivor benefits if your new spouse passes awayBut your core benefit of $1867 is locked in based on your earnings history regardless of marital status. That amount will only change with COLA increases, delayed retirement credits (if you wait past FRA), or early filing reductions (if you file before FRA).

This is really helpful info, but I've been on hold with Social Security for THREE HOURS trying to confirm something similar for my mom's situation!!! They keep disconnecting me when I finally reach a human. SO FRUSTRATED with their phone system!!!

I think the others have it right - your benefit is yours no matter what. BUT you should double-check about the ex-spouse benefit - sometimes the SSA reps make mistakes. If you were married 10+ years and haven't remarried, you SHOULD be eligible for up to 50% of your ex's FRA benefit. The key is that you'd get the HIGHER of either your own or the spousal benefit, not both. So if your ex's FRA benefit was $4000/month (just an example), 50% would be $2000, which would be higher than your $1867. But if his was less than ~$3734, then your own benefit is better.

Thanks for pointing that out. We were married 12 years, but the rep specifically compared the numbers and said 50% of his wouldn't exceed my $1867. He never made that much more than me during our marriage.

Have you considered checking with a financial advisor who specializes in Social Security? I found the SSA phone reps often give incomplete information. When I called about my benefits last month, I had to wait 2.5 hours only to be told contradictory information from what another rep told me the week before. It's frustrating!I actually found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a real SSA agent in under 20 minutes instead of hours on hold. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puUIt helped me finally get a straight answer about my survivor benefits question, and I bet they could confirm this marriage question too. The peace of mind was worth it.

Thanks for the tip! I might try that service - I definitely have more questions that came up after this appointment and really don't want to spend hours on hold again.

MY SISTER GOT MARRIED AND THEY CUT HER CHECK!!! But that was because she was on SSI not regular Social Security. People mix these up all the time!!! Regular SS retirement is based on YOUR work. SSI is need-based welfare basically and marriage income matters there.

Good point about the difference! SSI (Supplemental Security Income) is needs-based and looks at household income and resources. Regular OASDI retirement benefits are earned through your work record and not affected by marriage or household income.

When I got remarried last year, I had the EXACT same worry!!! I was so paranoid Social Security would cut my retirement check that I called them THREE times to confirm. Each time they assured me my own benefit wouldn't change. The only thing that changes with marriage is access to spousal benefits, not your earned benefit. Seriously - don't stress about this part! (But DO check if waiting beyond your FRA might increase your benefit amount if you can afford to wait!

That's reassuring to hear from someone who was in the same situation! I'm still trying to decide if I should take benefits at my FRA or wait until 70. It's such a complicated decision.

I'm just curious why they said your benefit is

You're right, I should be grateful. I think I was disappointed because I had used one of those online calculators that estimated I'd get over $2100, so the actual amount was a bit of a shock. But you're absolutely right that many people receive less.

One additional point that's important: if your potential new spouse has a significantly higher benefit than you, and you'd outlive them, remarriage might actually be financially advantageous for Social Security purposes. If they pass away, as their widow, you'd be eligible for 100% of their benefit amount if it exceeds your own.Many people don't realize that survivor benefits are much more generous (100% of the deceased's benefit) than spousal benefits (50% of the living spouse's benefit). This is something to consider in your long-term planning.

That's a really helpful perspective I hadn't considered. My boyfriend is actually 5 years older than me and has a higher earnings history, so that could potentially benefit me later in life. Not that I'm planning around that, but good to understand all the implications.