April 13, 2022 – With more than 2,700 rules, optimizing the benefits of Social Security is undoubtedly a challenging topic for clients and advisors alike. While the question “When should I start taking social security” is on most people’s minds, confusion abounds for those considering a divorce or remarriage, which may lead them to a wrong decision.
No worries. I’m here to translate.
Social Security Rules When Widows Remarry
Many widowed clients receiving Social Security survivor benefits would like to remarry, but worry they may lose their Social Security benefits if they do. Some are ashamed to be living with a partner, but can’t afford to give up the monthly survivor benefit.
Although that may have been the case once upon a time, the Social Security rules regarding survivor benefits were changed long ago. There is no reason that a widow can’t remarry after age 60 and continue collecting survivor benefits, even though they are married to someone else.
Initially, widows lost eligibility for survivor benefits if they remarried at any age. In 1965, a Miami newspaper reported that many senior citizens were “living in sin” because legal marriage might deprive them of pensions or Social Security. That anecdotal evidence got the attention of lawmakers and, supposedly, led them to pass a law change in July 1965, allowing widows to remarry after age 60.
The initial change allowed remarried widows to keep an amount equal to half of their deceased husband or wife’s full retirement age amount.
A more significant change in December 1977 allowed widows (but not surviving divorced spouses) to remarry after age 60 and still claim full widow’s benefits worth up to 100% of their deceased husband or wife’s PIA.
The benefits as a survivor are worth the maximum amount if the survivor claims them at her full retirement age or later. They don’t continue to grow by 8% per year if the survivor postpones claiming beyond full retirement age up to age 70, the way retirement benefits do.
Survivor benefits are available as early as age 60, but they’re worth just 71.5% of the deceased worker’s full retirement amount if they’re claimed at the earliest age. The later the widow claims survivor benefits, up to her full retirement age, the more considerable the amount she will receive.
The final rule change, in January 1984, allowed surviving divorced spouses who had been married at least ten years before divorcing to remarry after age 60 to still claim full survivor benefits. That rule allowed eligible divorced spouses to collect survivor benefits on an ex, while married to someone else, as long as they waited until age 60 or later to remarry. But remarriage nullified a divorced spouse’s right to collect spousal benefits on a living ex unless that subsequent marriage ended in death, divorce, or annulment.
An example:
A 94-year-old man plans to remarry a younger woman — age 82 — after they both lost their spouses in 2020. He is collecting his own Social Security retirement benefit, and his bride-to-be is collecting survivor benefits on her late husband.
Can the new wife continue to collect her survivor benefit on her first husband while married? Yes. Could she step up to his larger survivor benefit if he predeceases her? Yes again.
How long would the couple have to be married for her to collect survivor benefits if he died first? Nine months. A couple must be married for at least nine months before the first spouse’s death to claim a survivor benefit.
If he dies before then, his new wife would not be eligible to claim survivor benefits on his earnings record, but she could continue to collect survivor benefits on her first husband.
Survivors can’t claim benefits online. They must contact the Social Security Administration and make an appointment with the local field office. Expect a long wait. After being closed to the public for two years due to Covid, local Social Security offices are swamped.
Divorce Complicates Social Security Claiming Options
The length of the marriage, whether the individual claiming benefits has remarried, and the age at which they’re claiming affect benefit amounts. Stay with me on this one.
First, your marriage must last for at least ten consecutive years to claim social security spousal benefits on an ex-spouse’s record. If a divorced spouse remarries, she loses the right to collect spousal benefits on a living ex, unless that subsequent marriage ends through death or divorce. However, you would become eligible to claim social security benefits on the record of your new spouse.
Second, you must be at least 62 years old to claim a benefit. However, you will incur a permanent benefit reduction if you file before your Full Retirement Age (FRA). A divorced spouse is entitled to a Social Security benefit equivalent to 50% of the ex-spouse’s retirement benefit, even if the ex-spouse has remarried. Unlike retirement benefits, spousal benefits don’t continue to grow by 8% per year up until age 70.
Third, you can receive benefits on an ex-spouse’s record if you have been divorced for at least two continuous years and the ex-spouse has not applied for retirement benefits, but can qualify for them.
Warning: If you remarry while receiving benefits based on a living ex-spouse entitlement, you will no longer be eligible for those benefits. If your ex-spouse passes away, you can remarry and continue collecting survivor benefits on their earnings record, as long as you were 60 or older when you remarried. (See above).
Bottom Line:
- You can collect spousal benefits on the work record of an ex who has not yet filed for their own Social Security benefits if all of the following hold:
- You are both 62 or older.
- The marriage lasted at least ten years.
- You’ve been divorced for at least two years.
- You qualify for survivor benefits on the work record of a late ex-husband or ex-wife if:
- The marriage lasted at least ten years.
- You are at least 60 years old (at least 50 if you are disabled), or you are caring for a child from the previous marriage who is either under 16 or became disabled before turning 22 (in which case there is no age or length-of-marriage minimum).
- You are single or have remarried after the age of 60 (50 if disabled).
Conclusion
Social Security rules are very complicated. Do not assume you know what they are, and do not allow your feelings about what is “fair” to guide your decision. Given that social security is payable for life, adjusted annually for the cost of living, and a benefit that you may be entitled to, whether or not you have worked or contributed over your lifetime, it is imperative that you can receive the maximum financial amount.
If you have any questions about your benefits, please reach out to our team. Feel free to pass this information to friends or family that might have an interest.