A widow(er) is eligible to receive benefits if she or he is at least age 60. If a widow(er) remarries before age 60, she or he forfeits the benefit and, therefore, faces a marriage penalty. Under current law, there is no penalty if the remarriage occurs at 60 years of age or later.
Getting Married
If you're receiving spousal benefits based on your former spouse's work record, those benefits will generally end upon your getting remarried, but you may be able to receive benefits based on your new spouse's work record, or on your own.
Unless you stipulated otherwise, under the USFSPA (Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act), a former spouse's award of a member's retirement pay continues until either the member dies or the former spouse dies (whichever is first), regardless of remarriage.
You'll get any State Pension based on your husband, wife or civil partner's National Insurance contribution when you claim your own pension. You will not get it if you remarry or form a new civil partnership before you reach State Pension age.
Your pension will continue even if you remarry.
Spouse benefit provisions of private pension plans reflect the influence of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) . Pension plans are not required by law, but once established, ERISA requires that they provide for annuities to spouses of deceased employees.
Retirement Benefits
Did you know that when you enter into a new marriage or registered domestic partnership it revokes any beneficiary designation you may have on file with CalPERS?
If you get Social Security disability or retirement benefits and you marry, your benefit will stay the same. However, other benefits such as SSI, Survivors, Divorced Spouses, and Child's benefits may be affected.
When Spousal Support Automatically Ends on the Recipient's Remarriage. In most states—including California, Georgia, New York, and Texas—the obligation to pay alimony automatically ends when the recipient remarries, unless the couple had an agreement otherwise (more on that below).
You can claim even if your ex has remarried. You can claim even if your ex hasn't retired and isn't receiving Social Security benefits (as long as your ex is at least 62 and you've been divorced at least 2 years). Claiming won't reduce your ex's Social Security benefits or their current spouse's benefits.
If your spouse dies, do you get both Social Security benefits? You cannot claim your deceased spouse's benefits in addition to your own retirement benefits. Social Security only will pay one—survivor or retirement. If you qualify for both survivor and retirement benefits, you will receive whichever amount is higher.
Original divorce agreement: If the divorce decree explicitly states that the pension is to be divided, the ex-spouse may still have a claim, even years later. State laws: Some states have statutes of limitations on claims against retirement assets, while others may allow claims to be made at any time.
This is good news when former spouses are not on good terms. Your ex cannot “block” you from drawing your spousal benefit. In fact, he probably won't even know if you are drawing off him unless he calls SSA to ask.
Legally the plan is required to pay a spousal benefit unless the spouse signs a Spousal Consent Form or waiver. The spouse of the pension-earner is required by law to sign this form if you choose not to receive survivor's benefits. Why is there a Spousal Consent Form?
You will receive your survivor's pension for the rest of your life. Remarrying or entering into a new civil union does not affect your surviving spouse pension. Even though there may be no change in your pension, you do need to advise us of any name or address change to make sure your payments are not interrupted.
Remarrying may affect your benefits if you receive (or expect to receive) any of the following: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments – Your SSI eligibility and payment amount may change (or stop) due to your new spouse's income and resources.
Bottom Line. Getting remarried will not affect your accrued retirement or disability benefits under Social Security. However, if you receive divorce of survivor's benefits, there is a good chance that remarriage will affect those payments.
While marriage will not affect your own personal benefits, it might have an impact on the benefits that your children can receive. Additionally, if you divorce or become widowed, there might be an impact on your SSDI benefits.
Pension benefits are typically a fixed monthly payment in retirement that is guaranteed for life. Some pension benefits grow with inflation. Other pension benefits can be passed on to a spouse or dependent. But pensions aren't the only financial route to guaranteed lifetime income after you retire.
If you've worked and paid taxes into the Social Security system for at least 10 years and have earned a minimum of 40 work credits, you can collect your own benefits as early as age 62.
If you've been married multiple times, your current and former spouses could be eligible for Social Security benefits based on your earnings record, subject to certain requirements.
Have you heard about the Social Security $16,728 yearly bonus? There's really no “bonus” that retirees can collect. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a specific formula based on your lifetime earnings to determine your benefit amount.