I was married for 7 days shy of 10 years — will that ruin my chances of getting Social Security survivor benefits?
Many older people end up relying heavily on Social Security for income once they end their careers. And while the program is known for paying benefits to retired workers, there are other types of benefits it pays. One example is spousal benefits. Even if you never worked, you may be able to claim Social […] The post I was married for 7 days shy of 10 years — will that ruin my chances of getting Social Security survivor benefits? appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..
Key Points
-
Social Security survivor benefits can be a lifeline when your spouse passes away.
-
You may be entitled to survivor benefits as a divorcee.
-
If your marriage didn’t last 10 years, you generally won’t qualify for Social Security as a divorced survivor.
-
Are you ahead, or behind on retirement? SmartAsset’s free tool can match you with a financial advisor in minutes to help you answer that today. Each advisor has been carefully vetted, and must act in your best interests. Don’t waste another minute; get started by clicking here.(Sponsor)
Many older people end up relying heavily on Social Security for income once they end their careers. And while the program is known for paying benefits to retired workers, there are other types of benefits it pays.
One example is spousal benefits. Even if you never worked, you may be able to claim Social Security when you’re older as a current or former spouse of someone who’s eligible for benefits.
Similarly, Social Security pays survivor benefits to the spouses and ex-spouses of beneficiaries who pass away. And in this Reddit post, we have someone who wants to know if they can expect to receive survivor benefits. They may not love the answer, though.
The rules don’t tend to have much wiggle room
Here’s the situation. We have someone who is over 70 and wondering if they can apply for Social Security survivor benefits after their ex-spouse passes away.
The fact that the person is no longer married isn’t an issue. Rather, it’s the length of their marriage.
The subject of this post was only married to their ex-spouse for 10 years minus seven days. And that’s a problem, because to get Social Security survivor benefits as a divorcee, you need a 10-year marriage.
Now there can be some exceptions to this rule. If your marriage to your former spouse didn’t last a full 10 years, but you’re now caring for that ex-spouse’s child who’s a minor or has a disability, you may be able to collect survivor benefits.
For the most part, though, you can’t collect survivor benefits from Social Security if your marriage didn’t last a full 10 years. Clearly, it stinks to be just seven days shy of that mark. And chances are, Social Security survivor benefits weren’t on the couple’s mind when they filed for divorce. However, it’s unlikely that survivor benefits will be payable in this situation.
Know how Social Security works
It’s unfortunate that the subject of this post can’t get Social Security survivor benefits. They may be eligible for benefits based on their own earnings record, though, so that’s something to look into. Chances are, if they’re divorced and never remarried, they needed some amount of income, so they may be able to claim benefits based on their income history.
Another big takeaway here is that it’s important to understand the ins and outs of Social Security so you know how much you can depend upon it in retirement. Having that information ahead of time is crucial so you don’t end up relying on an income source you won’t be getting.
For example, if you know ahead of time that you won’t be getting survivor benefits from Social Security, you can take steps to work around that by saving very diligently during your working years. You can also compensate for a lack of survivor benefits by making plans to work part-time when you’re older, or by cutting back on different costs.
The sooner you understand what retirement income sources to count on, though, the better. So it pays to read up on Social Security even if you’re nowhere close to being able to bring your career to an end.
The post I was married for 7 days shy of 10 years — will that ruin my chances of getting Social Security survivor benefits? appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..
