How Social Security Benefits Are Affected Upon Remarriage

Dealing with a name change

Social security benefits help you when you need them most. But what happens when you remarry? It is important to understand how this will affect your social security. Sometimes remarriage means changing you name. This will involve officially changing your name on your social security card. In the event that you change your name, make sure to tell both Social Security and your current employer. Doing this will insure that your hard-earned money will be properly reported by your employer and recorded in your Social Security records. After this process, you will receive a new card from Social Security with your new name.

Future Retirement Benefits

If you remarry, you will also need to make sure the proper arrangements have been made with your divorce. If you are divorced after more than ten years of marriage, you have the ability of collecting retirement benefits on your former spouse's Social Security record. However, you must be at least 62 years old and your former spouse must be entitled to or receiving benefits from Social Security.

In the event that you remarry, you typically cannot collect benefits on your former spouse's record unless your most recent marriage ends either by death, divorce, or annulment. If your divorced spouse is deceased, you can actually receive benefits as a widow/widower as long as the marriage lasted more than 10 years. Social Security benefits paid to a surviving divorced spouse age 60 or over will have no affect on the benefits for other survivors receiving social security benefits.

Remarriage and Survivors' Benefits

In most cases, you will not be able to receive survivors benefits if you remarry before the age of 60 unless the latter marriage ends (by death, divorce, or annulment). Basically, in the case that you remarry after you turn 60 (50 for disabled people), you would still be able to collect benefits on your former spouse's record. Upon reaching age 62, you may get retirement benefits on the record of your new spouse if they are older.