Resources & FAQ

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) reduced Social Security retirement benefits for people who also received a pension from work not covered by Social Security.

The Government Pension Offset (GPO) reduced Social Security spousal or survivor benefits by two-thirds of your government pension amount.

As of January 5, 2025, these provisions have been repealed under the Social Security Fairness Act, meaning you may now be eligible for full Social Security benefits that were previously reduced or eliminated.

You need 40 credits to qualify for benefits based on your own work record. However, you may still qualify for spousal or survivor benefits based on a spouse's or former spouse's record, even if you have 0 work credits yourself.

You can check your credits online at ssa.gov/myaccount by creating a free account and viewing your Social Security Statement, or by calling 1-800-772-1213 and requesting a copy of your Statement showing total credits earned.

If your ex-spouse is LIVING:

• Your marriage lasted at least 10 years
• You are currently unmarried (remarriage at any age stops this benefit until that marriage ends)
• You are 62 or older
• Your ex-spouse is eligible for Social Security (62+ with work credits)
• 2-year rule: If divorced 2+ years, you can file even if your ex hasn't filed yet
• SSDI exception: If your ex receives SSDI, you may qualify even if they're under 62

If your ex-spouse is DECEASED (survivor benefits):

• Your marriage lasted at least 10 years
• You are 60+ (50+ if disabled), or any age if caring for their child under 16 or disabled child
• If you remarried after age 60 (50 if disabled), you can still receive survivor benefits while married
• If you remarried before 60, you become eligible again when that marriage ends

What if your ex-spouse dies while you're remarried?

• If you remarried after 60: You become eligible for survivor benefits (even if still married)
• If you remarried before 60: You become eligible when that marriage ends

Good to know:

• No cooperation needed — Your ex-spouse doesn't need to know or approve
• Their benefit stays the same — Claiming doesn't reduce what they receive
• Have their SSN if possible — It speeds up processing, but Social Security can look it up if you don't have it

Yes. Your ex-spouse's remarriage has no effect on your eligibility for divorced spouse or divorced survivor benefits. Only your own marital status matters — for a living ex-spouse, you must currently be unmarried; for a deceased ex-spouse, remarriage after age 60 (50 if disabled) does not disqualify you.

It also doesn't matter if your ex-spouse's new spouse is claiming benefits too. Social Security can pay benefits to multiple people on the same work record without reducing anyone's amount.

Yes. Social Security can pay benefits to multiple spouses and ex-spouses on the same work record at the same time — a current spouse, one ex-spouse, several ex-spouses, or any combination — as long as each person independently meets the eligibility rules (for an ex-spouse: a marriage of at least 10 years, currently unmarried, and age 62 or older).

Each person's benefit is calculated separately from the worker's own record. One person's benefit does not reduce anyone else's — including the worker's own benefit. There's no shared pool that gets split up among everyone claiming on the same record.

You generally can't look up an ex-spouse's benefit amount yourself online, but you don't need to — Social Security can tell you what you may qualify for based on their record.

Call 1-800-772-1213 with your ex-spouse's Social Security number if you have it (SSA can look it up without it), plus your marriage and divorce dates. If you've been divorced 2+ years, SSA can share this with you even if your ex hasn't filed — and without contacting them.

It depends on the type of benefit. Spousal or divorced-spouse benefits (your spouse or ex-spouse is living) can be started online at ssa.gov if you are within 3 months of age 62 or older — or by calling 1-800-772-1213 or visiting a local Social Security office.

Survivor benefits (widow, widower, or surviving divorced spouse) currently have no online application — per Social Security's own instructions, you must apply by phone or in person. An appointment isn't required, but calling ahead to schedule one can reduce your wait time.

Source: Social Security's Form SSA-2 (spouse's/divorced spouse's benefits) and Form SSA-10 (widow's/widower's/surviving divorced spouse's benefits).

It depends on the type of benefit:

• Living divorced spouse benefits: Remarriage at any age stops this benefit until that marriage ends. Marrying after 60 does NOT help here—it only preserves survivor benefits.
• Survivor benefits (deceased spouse/ex-spouse): Remarriage after age 60 (50 if disabled) does NOT affect eligibility. If you remarried before 60, you become eligible again when that marriage ends.
• Child-in-care benefits: Remarriage at any age ends these benefits until the marriage ends.

Important: If your ex-spouse dies while you're remarried, you may transition to survivor benefits:

• If you remarried after 60 (50 if disabled): You're eligible for survivor benefits even while still married
• If you remarried before 60: You become eligible when that marriage ends

No. Social Security pays you the highest single benefit you qualify for. Benefits do not "stack" or combine. However, you may switch to a different benefit if a higher one becomes available later (for example, when a spouse passes away).

No. Social Security does not automatically track your marriages, divorces, deceased spouses, or ex-spouses. You must inform them yourself to qualify for spousal, ex-spouse, or survivor benefits.

This is why many people miss out on benefits they're entitled to — they assume Social Security will reach out, but Social Security only knows what you tell them.

Generally, Social Security can only pay up to 6 months of retroactive benefits. This is why it's important to contact them as soon as possible—every month you wait could mean losing benefits you're entitled to.

If your spouse died before age 52, they may have qualified with fewer credits. The younger a person is when they die, the fewer credits they need. Contact Social Security to verify—don't assume they weren't eligible.

Spousal benefits (spouse is living):

• Up to 50% of your spouse's full benefit
• Available at age 62 (or any age with qualifying child)
• Your spouse must be receiving benefits

Survivor benefits (spouse or ex-spouse is deceased):

• Up to 100% of the deceased's full benefit
• Available at age 60 (or 50 if disabled, or any age with qualifying child)
• Marriage must have lasted at least 9 months (exceptions apply)

Common-law marriage is not nationwide — only 8 states plus DC currently allow new common-law marriages to be formed.

In states that do, a couple must agree to be married, live together, and (in most of these states) present themselves publicly as married. If valid under state law, the Social Security Administration treats it exactly like a formal marriage for spousal and survivor benefits.

States that currently allow new common-law marriages:

Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, and the District of Columbia.

South Carolina stopped allowing new common-law marriages on July 24, 2019 — marriages formed before that date are still valid, but no new ones can be created there now. Several other states also recognize common-law marriages formed before a past cutoff date, and every state recognizes a common-law marriage that was validly formed in a state where it's allowed.

See the full state-by-state list with exact cutoff dates →

If the same couple divorced before being married for ten years and then remarried, it does not count as the same marriage unless the remarriage occurred within the same or next calendar year of the divorce.

For example: If you divorced in November 2020 and remarried in March 2021 (next calendar year), Social Security would combine the marriages. But if you remarried in 2022 or later, they would be treated as separate marriages.

Some annulled marriages count for Social Security purposes if the marriage lasted more than 10 years, depending on how and why the marriage was annulled.

If your marriage was annulled but lasted 10+ years, contact Social Security directly — you may still qualify for benefits based on that relationship.

Usually no. Since a 2015 law change, Social Security uses "deemed filing" — when you file for either your own retirement benefit or a spousal benefit, you're considered to have filed for both, and you simply receive the higher of the two.

The older strategy of taking a smaller spousal-only benefit early and letting your own benefit grow until age 70 (a "restricted application") is no longer available to most people. The only exception is if you were born on or before January 1, 1954. Because of that cutoff, this strategy is no longer an option for people reaching full retirement age today. Confirm your specific rules with Social Security.

The same rule works in reverse: if you start with your own retirement benefit and a higher spousal benefit becomes available later (for example, once your spouse files), you don't file a separate "switch" — Social Security tops up your payment so the combined total equals the higher spousal amount.

The "spousal benefits loophole" refers to filing a restricted application — claiming only a spousal benefit at full retirement age while letting your own retirement benefit keep growing until age 70.

A 2015 law closed this loophole for almost everyone. It's only still available if you were born on or before January 1, 1954. For anyone born later, "deemed filing" rules mean you simply receive the higher of your own or spousal benefit — not both in sequence.

In most cases you don't have to — the funeral home reports the death to Social Security automatically if you give the funeral director the deceased's Social Security number. If a funeral home isn't handling it, call Social Security directly at 1-800-772-1213 with the deceased's name, Social Security number, date of birth, and date of death, as soon as possible.

Any benefit payment received for the month of death (or later) must be returned — for a direct deposit, contact the bank and ask them to return funds for that month or later; for a paper check, do not cash it and return it to Social Security instead.

Reporting the death is a separate step from applying for benefits — Social Security does not automatically pay survivor or lump-sum death benefits once a death is reported. See "What is the Social Security lump-sum death payment?" and "If my spouse or ex-spouse dies, do I get my own Social Security and theirs too?" below.

When a Social Security-insured worker dies, Social Security pays a one-time lump-sum death payment of $255 to an eligible surviving spouse, or to a qualifying child if there is no eligible spouse.

This is separate from ongoing monthly survivor benefits and is not paid automatically — you must apply for it. If a spouse or ex-spouse has passed away, ask about this payment in the same call where you ask about monthly survivor benefits.

No. As with all Social Security benefits, you receive the higher single benefit — your own retirement benefit or the survivor benefit based on the deceased spouse's or ex-spouse's record — not both added together.

If the survivor benefit is higher than what you currently receive on your own record, Social Security will raise you to that higher amount, but the two benefits do not stack.

A widow or widower can start collecting a reduced survivor benefit as early as age 60 (age 50 if disabled), or at any age if caring for the deceased spouse's child who is under 16 or disabled. Waiting until full retirement age unlocks the full survivor benefit — up to 100% of what the deceased spouse was receiving or entitled to.

The marriage must generally have lasted at least 9 months, though exceptions apply (for example, accidental death).

Yes, if you qualify for divorced survivor benefits: your marriage to them lasted at least 10 years, you're 60 or older (50 if disabled, or any age if caring for their child under 16 or disabled), and you're not currently remarried (or you remarried at age 60 or later).

You'd receive the higher of your own retirement benefit or their survivor benefit — up to 100% of what they were receiving — not both added together. This applies whether or not they remarried before they died.

Yes — spousal and survivor benefits are taxed under the same federal rule as your own retirement benefit; Social Security does not distinguish between benefit types for tax purposes.

Per the Social Security Administration, you owe federal income tax on your benefits if your "combined income" (adjusted gross income, plus nontaxable interest, plus half your annual Social Security benefit) exceeds $25,000 filing individually or $32,000 filing jointly, and up to 85% of your benefit can become taxable above that. Below those thresholds, benefits are not federally taxed.

State taxation varies — check your state's rules separately. For your exact taxable amount, use the worksheet in IRS Publication 915 or consult a tax professional.

A divorced spouse can receive up to 50% of their ex-spouse's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) — the ex-spouse's full benefit at their own full retirement age — but only if the divorced spouse waits until their own full retirement age to claim. This maximum doesn't depend on when the ex-spouse claimed or how much the ex-spouse actually receives.

Claiming earlier reduces the percentage. Per Social Security's benefit-reduction formula (25/36 of 1% for each of the first 36 months claimed early, then 5/12 of 1% for each additional month), a divorced spouse who claims at age 62 — the earliest possible age — can receive as little as 32.5% of the ex-spouse's PIA, rather than the full 50%.

This benefit does not increase for waiting past your own full retirement age (unlike your own retirement benefit), and claiming it has no effect on what your ex-spouse or their current spouse receives. See "Can I receive Social Security benefits from an ex-spouse?" above for the full eligibility requirements. Source: Social Security's spousal benefit calculator.

No — there's no age-55 rule for Social Security survivor benefits. The earliest a widow, widower, or surviving divorced spouse can start a reduced survivor benefit is age 60 (age 50 if disabled), or at any age if caring for the deceased spouse's child who is under 16 or disabled.

Per the Social Security Administration, starting at the earliest eligible age pays about 71.5% of what the deceased spouse was receiving or entitled to; waiting longer increases that percentage, up to 100% at full retirement age. See "When can a widow (or widower) collect her husband's Social Security?" above for the full eligibility rules. Source: Social Security's survivor benefits chart.