Social Security · Spouses, ex-spouses and survivors
Married, divorced, widowed or remarried, a husband or wife can often collect on the other’s record. How much, and when, depends on rules that are easy to get wrong and hard to undo. Here they are in plain English, with 2026 figures and twelve worked examples.
A living spouse or ex-spouse can receive up to half of the worker’s full benefit. A widow, widower or surviving ex-spouse can receive up to all of what the worker was getting.
From age 62, or any age caring for the worker’s child under 16 or disabled. Married at least 1 year. The worker must have filed.
Up to 50%
Divorced, former spouse living
From age 62. Married at least 10 years, and unmarried now. Generally stops if you remarry.
Up to 50%
From age 60 (50 if disabled), or any age caring for the deceased’s child under 16 or disabled. Married at least 9 months, with exceptions. Remarrying at 60 or later has no effect.
Up to 100%
Divorced, former spouse deceased
Same ages and remarriage rules as a widow or widower. Married at least 10 years.
Up to 100%
In every case Social Security pays your own benefit first, then adds enough to reach the higher amount. You never receive both in full.
Start here
Spousal and survivor benefits are percentages of the worker’s full benefit at full retirement age, which Social Security calls the Primary Insurance Amount.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Full benefit | What a worker receives if they start exactly at full retirement age |
| Full retirement age | 66 for births 1943–1954, rising 2 months a year to 67 for births in 1960 or later |
| Survivor full retirement age | The same schedule shifted 2 years: 66 for births through 1956, rising to 67 for births in 1962 or later |
| Early-claim reduction, spouse | 25/36 of 1% a month for the first 36 months early, then 5/12 of 1% a month. At 62 with a full retirement age of 67, a spouse receives 32.5% of the worker’s full benefit |
| Early-claim reduction, survivor | Spread evenly from 100% at survivor full retirement age down to 71.5% at age 60 |
| Delayed retirement credits | 8% a year added to a worker’s own benefit for each year past full retirement age, up to 70 |
| 2026 figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cost-of-living adjustment | 2.8% |
| Earnings limit before full retirement age ($1 withheld per $2 over) | $24,480 a year |
| Earnings limit in the year full retirement age is reached ($1 per $3 over) | $65,160 |
| Largest benefit at full retirement age | $4,152 a month |
| Average retired couple, both receiving | $3,208 a month |
| Average aged widow or widower alone | $1,919 a month |
| One-time death payment | $255 |
The examples below assume a full retirement age of 67 and ignore future cost-of-living increases. They are hypothetical illustrations, not estimates of anyone’s benefit.
Similar records, very different records, or one spouse who never worked.
The 10-year rule, the 2-year rule, and more than one former spouse.
The 82.5% floor, switching between benefits, and young widows with children.
The benefit people forget they have.
What a new marriage does to each kind of benefit, and why age 60 matters.
Including the “five years of marriage” rule that doesn’t exist.
Married, both living
A spouse can add a top-up only after the worker has filed, and only if half of the worker’s full benefit is larger than the spouse’s own full benefit.
Example 1
Husband’s full benefit $2,400; wife’s $2,200. Half of either is smaller than the other’s own benefit, so there is no spousal top-up. The record that matters is the larger one, because it becomes the survivor’s check.
| Both claim at 67 | Husband waits to 70 | |
|---|---|---|
| Household while both living | $4,600 | $5,176 |
| After the first death, the survivor keeps | $2,400 | $2,976 |
Example 2
Husband’s full benefit $3,000; wife’s $900. Half of his is $1,500, so her top-up is $1,500 minus $900, or $600. Each piece is reduced separately for the age it starts.
| Wife’s choice | Her own | Top-up | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Both pieces at her full retirement age, 67 | $900 | $600 | $1,500 |
| Both pieces at 62 (husband already filed) | $630 | $390 | $1,020 |
| Own at 62; top-up at 67 when husband files | $630 | $600 | $1,230 |
The last row is the one people miss: claiming her own benefit early lowers her combined amount for life, even though the top-up itself starts unreduced.
Example 3
Husband’s full benefit $2,800; wife has no record. She can receive up to $1,400 at her full retirement age, or $910 at 62, but not until he files. If he waits to 70 to raise his own check to $3,472, her spousal benefit waits with him and is still capped at $1,400. If he dies first, she receives his full $3,472 as a widow.
That is the trade-off in its clearest form: the worker’s delay costs the spouse spousal checks now and buys a much larger survivor check later.
Divorced, both living
A divorced spouse is paid exactly like a current spouse, up to half of the former spouse’s full benefit, if the marriage lasted 10 years and the claimant is unmarried.
Example 4
A woman, 64, was married 12 years, divorced in 2015 and has not remarried. Her full benefit is $1,000; her former husband’s is $3,200, and he plans to wait until 70 to file. Because they have been divorced more than 2 years and he is over 62, she can file now. At her full retirement age she would receive $1,000 plus a $600 top-up, or $1,600. His decision to wait does not hold her up, unlike the current spouse in Example 3.
Example 5
A man was married 9 years and 10 months when the divorce became final. He has no claim on his former wife’s record, now or after her death. Two more months of marriage would have given him both.
Example 6
A retired worker has a current wife and two former wives, each married to him more than 10 years. All three can collect up to half of his full benefit at the same time. His own check does not change, and neither former wife’s benefit reduces what the current wife receives.
Widowed
A widow or widower can receive up to 100% of what the deceased spouse was receiving, including delayed credits, and can start as early as 60 at a reduced rate.
| The deceased spouse… | The survivor’s benefit is based on |
|---|---|
| Died before full retirement age without filing | The full benefit |
| Died after full retirement age without filing | The full benefit plus delayed credits earned up to death |
| Filed after full retirement age | The larger amount being received |
| Filed before full retirement age | The larger of the reduced amount being received or 82.5% of the full benefit |
Example 7
A husband’s full benefit is $3,000.
| Husband filed at | His check | Widow at her full retirement age | Widow at 60 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | $2,100 | $2,475 (82.5% floor) | $2,145 |
| 67 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $2,145 |
| 70 | $3,720 | $3,720 | About $2,660 |
The difference between the first and last rows is $1,245 a month for the rest of the widow’s life.
Example 8
A widow’s own full benefit is $2,400; her late husband was receiving $2,000. She takes the survivor benefit at 60, $1,430 a month, and lets her own benefit grow. At 70 she switches to her own benefit of $2,976.
Example 9
A widow’s own full benefit is $1,200; her late husband was receiving $2,600. She takes her own reduced benefit at 62, $840, then switches at 67 to the full survivor benefit of $2,600. Claiming her own benefit early does not reduce the survivor benefit.
Example 10
A worker dies in 2026 with a full benefit of $2,500, leaving a wife of 38 and two children, 8 and 10. Each of the three is entitled to 75%, or $1,875, a total of $5,625. The family maximum for a $2,500 full benefit is about $4,617, so each receives about $1,539.
The wife’s benefit stops when the younger child turns 16; each child’s stops at 18, or 19 if still in high school. She can claim again as a widow from age 60.
Divorced, former spouse deceased
A surviving ex-spouse is paid like a widow or widower, up to 100% of the former spouse’s benefit, if the marriage lasted 10 years.
Example 11
A woman, 63, was married 15 years, divorced in 2005, and remarried at 61. Her former husband has just died; his benefit was $2,800. Because she remarried after 60, she qualifies as his surviving divorced spouse. At 63 she would receive about $2,340, roughly 84% of his benefit, or the full $2,800 if she waits until 67. His widow receives her own survivor benefit on his record, unaffected by the former wife’s claim.
Remarriage
Remarriage affects only the person who remarries, and its effect depends on which benefit they hold and their age on the wedding date.
| Benefit held when you remarry | Remarry before 60 | Remarry at 60 or later |
|---|---|---|
| Divorced-spouse benefit (former spouse living) | Generally stops | Generally stops |
| Survivor benefit (widowed, or former spouse deceased) | Not payable while the new marriage lasts | Continues |
| Your own retirement benefit | No effect | No effect |
| Rights on the new spouse’s record | Spousal after 1 year; survivor after 9 months | Spousal after 1 year; survivor after 9 months |
For a disabled widow or widower, the age line is 50 instead of 60.
Example 12
A widower, 67, whose late wife was receiving $1,800, remarries a woman of 66 whose own benefit is $1,500. He keeps his own benefit and his right to his late wife’s survivor benefit, since he remarried after 60. His new wife becomes eligible as his widow after 9 months of marriage and for a spousal top-up after 1 year. If she has a deceased former husband from a 10-year marriage, she keeps that survivor right as well.
Every case
Common myths
There is no five-year rule. It is 9 months for survivor benefits, 1 year for spousal benefits, and 10 years for a former spouse.
Spousal and survivor benefits are paid in addition to the worker’s own check, never out of it.
A former spouse’s claim has no effect on the worker’s benefit or a current spouse’s benefit.
The spousal benefit stops growing at the spouse’s full retirement age. Waiting past it adds nothing.
Only remarriage before 60 (50 if disabled), and only while that marriage lasts.
Often they require an application, and back payments are limited.
You receive the higher of the two, not both.
That is only possible for people born before January 2, 1954. Widows and widowers can still take one benefit and switch to the other.
That offset was repealed by the Social Security Fairness Act in January 2025.
The higher earner’s claiming age sets the survivor’s check for life.
The right claiming order for a couple depends on both records, both ages, any former spouses, and what happens to the household’s income when one of you dies. We map all of it in a complimentary Retirement Analysis, before anyone files.
Sources