Will remarrying before 60 cancel my deceased wife's Social Security survivor benefits?

This is an important question about survivor benefits. Yes, if you remarry before age 60, you generally cannot receive survivor benefits based on your deceased wife's work record while you are married. The rule is very specific about the age 60 cutoff. If you wait until 60 or after to remarry, you preserve your eligibility for survivor benefits from your late wife's record. If you do remarry before 60 and that marriage later ends (through death, divorce, or annulment), you could become eligible again for the survivor benefits from your first wife.

Have you talked to SSA directly?? I was in sort of similar situation and the FIRST person told me one thing and then when I called back to verify the SECOND person said something totally different!!!! It was so frustrating and confusing. And then the local office was CLOSED when I tried to go in person. You really need this from an official source not just people online because this is your FUTURE we're talking about!!!

I spent 24 years working for SSA, and I can confirm that the remarriage before age 60 rule is absolutely critical for survivor benefits. The law is very clear - if you remarry before reaching age 60, you cannot receive survivor benefits on your deceased spouse's record while that marriage remains in effect. However, if you wait until you're 60 or older to remarry, you preserve your right to claim those benefits. One thing to consider: Have you compared what your own retirement benefit would be versus your potential survivor benefit? Sometimes people focus on the survivor benefit without realizing their own benefit might actually be higher, especially if they wait until their Full Retirement Age (FRA) to claim.

my cousin went thru this exact thing! he remarried at 59 and regretted it so much cause he found out later he could of gotten like $1200 more a month if he just waited til 60!! they even thought about divorcing and remarrying just for the benefits but i think thats illegal or something lol

I've been trying to reach Social Security for weeks about a similar question regarding my survivor benefits and it's absolutely impossible to get through. Hours on hold only to get disconnected. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real SSA agent in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent confirmed what others here are saying - remarrying before 60 means you cannot collect survivor benefits from your previous spouse while that marriage is ongoing. Waiting until 60+ preserves those rights. Definitely worth getting the official confirmation from SSA directly.

ANOTHER thing to think about!!!! If you do wait til after 60 to remarry you ALSO need to think about if your NEW spouse has a higher benefit than your deceased wife!!! Because you can only take ONE benefit - either survivor from first wife OR spousal from new wife (if that's higher). You cant double dip or anything, Social Security doesnt work that way!!!!

Not to derail the conversation, but there's also the emotional side of this decision. I delayed a marriage for benefit reasons and it put a strain on the relationship. Explaining to someone that you're calculating marriage timing based on benefit eligibility can be challenging. Just something to consider along with all the financial aspects.

Regarding the timing - you mentioned you're 58½ now, so you have about 18 months before reaching that age 60 threshold. It might be worth explaining the situation to your girlfriend if the relationship is serious. Many people understand the importance of financial planning, especially when significant benefits are at stake. Also remember that survivor benefits can be claimed as early as age 60 (with a reduction), or you can wait until your Full Retirement Age for the full amount. This is another factor to consider in your overall planning.