Marriage has its perks
Social Security covers both spouses, regardless of whether one or both brought home a paycheck over the years.
you're eligible for some of your ex's Social Security
wives and widows. That means most divorced women collect their own Social Security while the ex is alive, but can apply for higher widow's rates when he dies.
The first exception, which can be deemed as the Social Security spousal benefits loophole, works where an individual who remarries at 60 or later may still be entitled to Social Security survivors' benefits if the second marriage ends before the death of the first spouse.
If you remarry after age 60 – You may be eligible for survivors benefits on your deceased spouse's record or benefits on your new spouse's record.
If the spouses divorced, the marriage must have lasted 10 years. Each survivor benefit can be up to 100% of your benefit. The amount may be reduced if the women start benefits before their own full retirement age, but they don't have to share — the amount isn't reduced because you've had more than one spouse.
Impact of remarrying: If you remarry before age 60 (or 50 if disabled), you typically won't be eligible to collect survivor benefits from your former spouse. However, if the subsequent marriage ends, you may become eligible again.
If you have since remarried, you can't collect benefits on your former spouse's record unless your later marriage ended by annulment, divorce, or death. Also, if you're entitled to benefits on your own record, your benefit amount must be less than you would receive based on your ex-spouse's work.
If the widow does not wait until age 60 to marry, she cannot claim the widow benefit on her first husband's record. This leaves her ineligible for Social Security benefits for the first 24 months after attaining age 60. Assume that she files for the spouse benefit from her second husband's record at age 62.
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.
If you're not disabled and you remarry before age 60, you lose your eligibility for survivor benefits, but you may be able to claim again when that marriage ends. Your payouts may start in the first month when the remarriage ends, and all entitlement requirements are met.
Several factors can disqualify you from receiving survivor benefits, such as: Remarrying before a certain age. Your deceased spouse not having earned enough work credits. Not meeting the SSA definition of a spouse.
If you are married and you and your spouse have worked and earned enough credits individually, you will each get your own Social Security benefit.
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.
What you may not realize is that your spouse may also be able to receive Social Security benefits. In fact, they don't even have to have reached retirement age to qualify for these benefits. They may be eligible, through this loophole, if they are serving as a caregiver at home for your child with disabilities.
Even if your ex-spouse remarries, you are still eligible for a spousal or survivor benefit. Social Security will pay benefits to your ex- spouse, their current spouse and you, and no one's benefit will be reduced.
A widow or widower and a divorced ex-spouse (or multiple ex-spouses) can draw survivor benefits on the same person's earnings record without affecting what the other receives.
Widowers may be more likely than widows to desire remarriage because marriage provides men with instrumental and health-enhancing support (Cancian & Oliker, 2000).
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.
Survivor annuities payable to widows, widowers, and former spouses end if the survivor remarries before age 55 and was not married for at least 30 years to the deceased employee or annuitant. Widows, widowers, and former spouses who remarry after they reach age 55 continue to be eligible for survivor annuity benefits.
Yes, you can receive Social Security or survivor benefits based on your ex-husband's work record, even if you are working. However, your benefits may be subject to the SSA's earnings test if you are below your full retirement age and earn income above certain limits.
Surviving spouse, age 60 or older, but under full retirement age, gets between 71% and 99% of the worker's basic benefit amount. Surviving spouse, any age, with a child younger than age 16, gets 75% of the worker's benefit amount. Child gets 75% of the worker's benefit amount.