Welcome to Ask Money Talks News, a series answering financial questions submitted by Money Talks Newsletter subscribers.
In this installment, we’re talking about how getting married later in life, after claiming Social Security, can affect benefits.
Sonshynne asks Money Talks News:
“Hello. My question is: I’m 71 and collecting my full retirement. (I worked till I was 67.5.) I just got engaged to Kenny, who is 62, retired and just signed up for Social Security. If we get married, will one of us lose our full retirement? Will one of us have to take half of the other’s Social Security, or can we each keep what we are earning? My figure is $2,255 a month and his will be $2,050 a month. Thanks!”
Thanks for your question, Sonshynne, and congratulations on your engagement!
Whether you can keep your current benefit amount after marrying Kenny depends on what type of benefit it is.
If $2,255 is your own retirement benefit — meaning the Social Security Administration calculated it based on your own earnings record — you can keep it.
If you were previously married and divorced and $2,255 is actually your ex-spousal benefit — meaning it’s based on the earnings record of your ex — you would lose your ex-spousal benefit amount. It doesn’t sound like that’s the case here, though.
If you were previously married and widowed and $2,255 is your survivor’s benefit — meaning it’s based on your deceased spouse’s record — you could keep that benefit amount. This is because you’d be marrying Kenny at age 60 or older. If $2,255 were your survivor’s benefit and you remarried at a younger age, that would not be the case. But at 71 years young, there is no concern that your monthly amount would change after you tie the knot.
Now, for Kenny’s benefit.
His amount is reduced since he applied for his benefits early, before reaching his full retirement age. He doesn’t need to worry about the amount changing when you get married, though, assuming it’s his own retirement benefit based on his own earnings record. As is the case for you, he could only lose his current benefit amount if he was previously married and $2,050 is actually his ex-spousal benefit.
In the unfortunate scenario that you might pass before Kenny, he could be eligible for survivor’s benefits based on your record. His monthly amount could increase, but only if your benefit was higher than his.
How to Ask Money Talks News
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- Hit “reply” to the Money Talks Newsletter.
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We can’t answer every question we receive, of course, but we do prioritize questions from Money Talks News members and questions that apply to a majority of our audience.
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