She’ll Remarry at 63, and When Her Ex-Husband Dies, Social Security Will Still Pay Her Survivor Benefits on His Record Every Month

A divorced woman married for at least 10 years holds a claim on her ex-husband’s Social Security record after the marriage ends. If she remarries at 63 and her ex-husband later dies, she can still collect Social Security survivor benefits on his record. Remarriage before age 60 permanently closes that door; remarriage at 60 or later leaves it open.

A Wedding After 60 Keeps the Ex’s Record Open

Social Security pays two distinct types of ex-spouse benefits. The Social Security Administration confirms that divorced spouse benefits, paid while the ex is still alive, generally stop when the recipient remarries. Surviving divorced spouse benefits follow different rules: they begin only after the ex dies, and a remarriage at 60 or later (or at 50 with a qualifying disability) does not cancel them. When her former husband dies, she can file as his surviving divorced spouse while still married to her new husband. Claiming at her full retirement age, which falls between 66 and 67, entitles her to up to 100% of his benefit.

Federal Regulations Back the Exception in Writing

Survivor benefits for divorced spouses are governed by 20 C.F.R. §404.336. To qualify, the claimant must have been married to the worker for at least 10 years immediately before the divorce became final, and the worker must have died fully insured under Social Security. The claimant must also be at least 60 years old, or at least 50 with a qualifying disability. The remarriage exception is spelled out in 20 C.F.R. §404.335(e): a remarriage at 60 or later does not end eligibility. On her podcast, personal finance commentator Suze Orman captured the age line plainly: “If you get remarried at 60 or after, you can still qualify. But do not get remarried before 60 if you want survivor benefits.”

Who Qualifies and Who Gets Shut Out

Eligibility comes down to a short checklist:

• The marriage lasted at least 10 years before the divorce was final.
• The ex-spouse has died and was fully insured under Social Security.
• The claimant is at least 60, or at least 50 and disabled.
• The claimant never remarried, remarried at 60 or later, or remarried before 60 and that marriage has since ended.

A person who remarried before age 60 and remains in that marriage does not qualify; eligibility returns only if the later marriage ends. A marriage that lasted less than 10 years also disqualifies the claim. Importantly, a claim by an ex-wife does not reduce what the deceased’s widow or children receive, because ex-spouses don’t count toward the family maximum.

How to Claim Survivor Benefits on an Ex’s Record

1. Gather documents. Find the marriage certificate and final divorce decree to show the marriage lasted 10 years.
2. Check the remarriage date. Compare the new marriage date with your 60th birthday.
3. Contact Social Security after the death. Call 1-800-772-1213 and provide your ex’s Social Security number. If that number isn’t available, provide his date of birth and his parents’ names.
4. Pick your claiming age. Payments start at 71.5% of the ex’s benefit at 60, rise above 80% at age 63 and above 90% at age 65, and reach 100% at survivor full retirement age.
5. Watch the earnings test. In 2026, Social Security deducts $1 for every $2 earned above $24,480 for anyone below full retirement age. In the year you reach that age, the limit rises to $65,160, with $1 withheld for every $3 above it.
6. Plan a switch. A claimant can start with survivor benefits and later switch to her own retirement benefit at age 70.

One Check Only: Where This Rule Catches People

Her new marriage creates a second potential benefit: a spousal benefit on her new husband’s record. Social Security will not pay both. She receives whichever is higher: the survivor benefit on her ex’s record, the spousal benefit on her new husband’s record, or her own retirement benefit. The agency is clear that “the payments won’t be added together.” Claiming survivor benefits before full retirement age also locks in a permanently reduced monthly amount, so timing matters considerably.

Survivor payments receive the annual cost-of-living adjustment. The Social Security Administration officially announced on October 14, 2026 that the 2027 COLA is 3.6%, the largest benefit increase since 2023. Starting in January 2027, that adjustment will add an average of $75 per month for recipients across the program, including surviving divorced spouses collecting on a former husband’s record.

Editor’s note: This article was updated to reflect the Social Security Administration’s official October 14, 2026 announcement of a 3.6% COLA for 2027, replacing an earlier projection of 3.3% that was based on incomplete inflation data.

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