Full question: If I was married for 17 years and now I’ve remarried and my current marriage is in the 15th year, who can claim spousal Social Security benefits, my current spouse or my divorced spouse? And my current spouse is 64 and collecting social security at this time. Can he collect from mine if it’s higher?

Hello,

Since you were married for more than 10 years, your ex-spouse is eligible to collect a spousal benefit if they did not remarry and they are at least 62 years old.

Your current spouse would also be eligible to collect a spousal benefit on your record if it is higher than what they are currently collecting.

Neither of these scenarios would decrease your benefit itself, but you would have to be collecting your benefit before your current spouse can collect a spousal benefit.

There are many rules that surround spousal benefits and they may affect other benefits in the future. If you need more help navigating the program and getting your options in a personalized plan, reach out to our team of RSSA’s who can help you!

Take care,
Martha

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