I was married to my deceased husband for 38 years. I collect his benefits. If I marry again, do I still get the same amount of Social Security benefits?
— Dating Widow
Dear Dating,
If you remarry, the amount you receive in Social Security benefits might change — but only in your favor.
As long as you’re 60 years old or older when you remarry (50 if you’re disabled), you can continue to draw your survivor’s benefit from your late husband’s Social Security account. You’ll also become eligible to draw a spouse’s benefit from your new spouse’s account. But you wouldn’t receive two full payments — in total, you’d receive a combination of benefits from the two accounts that’s equal to the higher amount.
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In other words: You might keep getting the same amount you’re getting now, or you might get a higher amount if your new spouse’s account comes with a higher benefit.
This is available to you because you were married to your deceased husband for at least 10 years. Less than that, and you wouldn’t be eligible to keep drawing survivor’s benefits. You’d also lose those benefits if you married before age 60 (or 50 if you’re disabled).
Once you turn 62 and up until age 70, you have the option to switch from either your survivor’s benefits or spouse’s benefits to your own retirement benefits (if you have them). You can choose which you receive, so you can always get the highest amount you’re eligible for.
Dana Miranda is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance® and author of YOU DON’T NEED A BUDGET. She writes Healthy Rich, a newsletter about how capitalism impacts the ways we think, teach and talk about money.