Marriage, Divorce & Social Security: What You Need to Know

Major life events—like marrying, remarrying, or divorcing—can have a meaningful impact on your Social Security and Medicare benefits. Understanding the rules can help you make more informed decisions as you plan for retirement.

Marriage & Remarriage

Marriage is more than a commitment—it’s a legal status that determines eligibility for spousal and survivor benefits. Without a legal marriage (or recognized common‑law marriage in certain states), partners cannot access benefits based on each other’s earnings record.

For many couples approaching retirement age, making the relationship legal can help a low‑earning spouse qualify for spousal benefits during the marriage and survivor benefits later on. Spousal benefits are available after one year of marriage, with a few timing‑related exceptions.

One key rule: if you want to preserve survivor benefits from a prior marriage, you must remarry after age 60.

Divorce

“Gray divorce”—divorce later in life—is increasingly common. The good news: if you were married for at least 10 years, you may qualify for spousal or survivor benefits based on an ex‑spouse’s record, as long as you remain unmarried. These benefits do not affect what the ex‑spouse or their current spouse receives.

Widowhood

If your spouse passes away, Social Security provides essential survivor benefits. To help protect the long‑term financial security of the surviving spouse, the higher‑earner is often encouraged to delay claiming until age 70.

Survivor benefits are not automatic in all cases, so widows and widowers may need to contact the Social Security Administration to begin the process.