Will remarrying before age 60 cancel my right to late husband's Social Security survivor benefits?

Yes, remarrying before age 60 will permanently prevent you from collecting survivor benefits based on your late husband's record. If you wait until you're 60 or older to remarry, you preserve your eligibility for those survivor benefits. This is a really important distinction in Social Security rules that many people don't realize until it's too late.

i went thru something kinda like this!! got remarried at 58 and totally didnt know about the age 60 rule until AFTER the wedding lol. big mistake financially!! if i had just waited 2 more years i couldve kept my late husbands ss which was way higher than what i get now from my current husband. definately wait!!

This is one of the most important Social Security planning decisions for widows/widowers. Here are the facts: 1. If you remarry before age 60, you cannot receive survivor benefits on your deceased husband's record (with very limited exceptions). 2. If you wait until age 60 or later to remarry, you preserve your right to claim survivor benefits from your first husband's record. 3. Once you reach retirement age, you'll be able to choose whichever benefit gives you the highest amount: your own retirement benefit, a spousal benefit based on your new husband's record, or the survivor benefit from your deceased husband. I recommend comparing what your future benefits might be under different scenarios. You can make an appointment with SSA to get estimates of what each type of benefit might be worth to you.

I tried calling SSA for weeks to get similar benefit estimates when I was making decisions about survivor benefits. Constantly busy signals or disconnected after long waits. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an SSA agent in under 5 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent I spoke with gave me printouts showing different benefit scenarios, which helped me make a decision. In your case, you really need those exact numbers before deciding whether to delay marriage.

My sister just went thru this exact thing last year!!! She was 58 and widowed and her new boyfriend was getting disability. They had a commitment ceremony instead of legal marriage and are waiting until she turns 60 next year for the legal part. That way she gets to keep her late husbands SS which is like twice what she'd get otherwise. Maybe you could do something similar?

IMPORTANT: Don't forget that the 60-year rule is ONLY for survivor benefits! Different rules apply to ex-spouse benefits if you were divorced. Also, if your boyfriend is on SSDI, make sure you understand how your income might affect his benefits and Medicare eligibility if you marry. SSA rules are INCREDIBLY complicated and I've seen so many people make costly mistakes.

have u told ur boyfriend about this? what does he think? maybe he'll understand waiting if it means more $$$ for both of u in the long run?

One more important thing to consider: If your late husband's benefit amount would be substantially higher than what you'd receive from your boyfriend's record (or your own record), waiting until after 60 to marry could mean tens of thousands of dollars more in lifetime benefits. This is especially true if your late husband was a high earner or had a long work history. At current benefit levels, the difference could easily be $500-$1,000 per month for the rest of your life.

random question but does anyone know if common law marriage counts for this 60 year rule?? My cousin is in a similar situation in Texas which is a common law state