To collect Social Security widow(er) benefits, you generally must have been married to the deceased for at least nine months immediately prior to their death. For divorced spouses, the marriage must have lasted at least 10 years. Exceptions to the nine-month rule exist for accidental deaths or line-of-duty military deaths.
Spouses and ex-spouses
You may be eligible if you: Are age 60 or older, or age 50–59 if you have a disability, and. Were married for at least 9 months before your spouse's death, and. Didn't remarry before age 60 (age 50 if you have a disability).
You can qualify for spousal benefits if you meet all these requirements: Your spouse is already receiving retirement benefits. You have been married for at least one year. You are at least 62 years old, or you are caring for a child who is under age 16 or disabled.
The Social Security "10-year marriage rule" allows a divorced spouse to claim benefits on their ex-spouse's earnings record if their marriage lasted at least 10 years, they are currently unmarried (unless the ex-spouse has remarried), are at least 62, and the ex-spouse is eligible for retirement or disability benefits, without reducing the ex-spouse's benefit. This rule helps lower-earning or non-working spouses receive benefits if their own record is smaller, and it applies even if the ex-spouse has remarried, provided the ex-spouse is receiving benefits.
Qualifying Surviving Spouse Filing Status
Taxpayers who do not remarry in the year their spouse dies can file jointly with the deceased spouse. For the two years following the year of death, the surviving spouse may be able to use the Qualifying Surviving Spouse filing status.
To get Social Security survivor benefits, you generally need to have been married for at least 9 months, though this rule doesn't apply if the death was accidental, you had a child together, or for divorced spouses if the marriage lasted 10 years, with exceptions for caring for a minor child or a disabled child. You must also meet age requirements (usually 60+, or 50+ if disabled) and not have remarried before that age.
Any payments to an individual made after the 2-year period is taxed at the recipient's marginal rate of tax, but there is no test against the lump sum and death benefit allowance on these payments. The 2-year rule also applies to any beneficiary drawdown or beneficiary's annuity.
The Social Security "10-year rule" allows a divorced spouse to claim benefits on their former spouse's record if the marriage lasted at least 10 years, they are unmarried, and at least 62 years old, without affecting the ex-spouse's benefit amount. This rule provides a financial safety net, letting individuals collect up to 50% of their ex's benefit, even if their own Social Security earnings are lower, and the ex doesn't need to have filed for benefits yet.
If you are divorced and your marriage lasted at least 10 years, you may be able to get benefits on your former spouse's record and your former spouse may be able to get benefits on your record.
The biggest recent change is the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA) of 2023, effective January 2024, which eliminated the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), meaning your spouse's or survivor's benefits won't be reduced by your non-Social Security government pension anymore, making it much fairer. Also, the "file and suspend" strategy for spousal benefits ended for most, but the core rules remain: you get the higher of your own or your spousal benefit (up to 50% of your partner's), and you can generally switch from spousal to your own higher retirement benefit at full retirement age.
The Social Security spousal benefits loophole, primarily the "File and Suspend" and "Restricted Application" strategies, allowed a higher-earning spouse to delay their own benefits (earning delayed retirement credits) while the lower-earning spouse collected a spousal benefit based on the higher earner's record; however, a 2015 law closed these loopholes for most new applicants, meaning if one spouse claims spousal benefits, their own benefits are also considered claimed, and benefits can't be suspended to let spousal benefits accrue. A separate, less-known exception allows a spouse caring for a disabled adult child (under 22) to receive benefits even if they haven't reached retirement age, as noted by Special Needs Answers.
To receive a spouse benefit, you generally must have been married for at least one continuous year to the retired or disabled worker on whose earnings record you are claiming benefits. There are narrow exceptions to the one-year rule.
You can get a Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's Contributory Pension as long as you remain a widow, widower or surviving civil partner. This pension stops if you remarry or register in a new civil partnership or live with someone as husband and wife or as civil partners.
To collect your spouse's Social Security, you generally must be at least 62 (or any age caring for a child under 16/disabled), married at least one year, and your spouse must be receiving their own benefits; you'll get the higher of your own benefit or up to 50% of your spouse's benefit, with reduced amounts for claiming early, but you can't get both or combine them. Divorced spouses have similar rules but must have been married at least 10 years and be unmarried.
If you are entitled to a Bereavement Payment, it will be paid as a lump sum. You may be able to get Widowed Parent's Allowance or Bereavement Allowance as well as a Bereavement Payment.
Benefits for surviving divorced spouses
If you've been divorced, your former spouse, age 60 or older (or age 50 to 59 if they have a disability) can get benefits, if your marriage lasted at least 10 years.
To get Social Security survivor benefits, you generally need to have been married for at least 9 months, though this rule doesn't apply if the death was accidental, you had a child together, or for divorced spouses if the marriage lasted 10 years, with exceptions for caring for a minor child or a disabled child. You must also meet age requirements (usually 60+, or 50+ if disabled) and not have remarried before that age.
If you are divorced, the spousal benefit is still available to you. To qualify, you must have been married to your ex-spouse for at least 10 years, be 62 years old or older and remain unmarried.
Pensions don't automatically 'sort themselves out' when someone divorces or dies. It's possible that a spouse or another beneficiary might benefit. But the amount claimed depends on the type of pension, the age of the deceased and their beneficiaries.
Yes, a divorced wife can get her ex-husband's Social Security benefits if their marriage lasted at least 10 years, she is unmarried, is at least 62, and her ex-spouse is eligible for benefits, with payments not reducing the ex-spouse's or their current spouse's benefits. Benefits are paid on the ex-spouse's record, up to half their benefit, and the ex-spouse's remarriage doesn't affect eligibility.
To use the rule of 72, divide 72 by the fixed rate of return to get the rough number of years it will take for your initial investment to double. You would need to earn 10% per year to double your money in a little over seven years.
After the 1981 changes, the only people eligible for the lump sum are a spouse who was living with the worker at the time of his death or a spouse or child who is receiving monthly benefits on the worker's record.
You may inherit part of or all of your partner's extra State Pension or lump sum if: they died while they were deferring their State Pension (before claiming) or they had started claiming it after deferring. they reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016. you were married or in the civil partnership when they died.