How long you’re hitched makes big difference in Social Security payouts

The recent Supreme Court hearing on whether the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) should be overturned has thrust gay marriage into the national spotlight.

DOMA, which states that a marriage must be between one man and one woman, makes it impossible for same-sex couples who were legally married by their state to qualify for valuable Social Security spousal benefits during life and survivor benefits upon the death of the first spouse. Gay marriage is legal in nine states — Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Washington — and the District of Columbia.

If the Supreme Court overturns the rule that bans gay marriage, it could open up Social Security benefits, as well as a variety of income tax and estate planning options, to homosexual couples. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision in June.

Given all the recent attention about who qualifies as a spouse, I thought it would be a good time to review the rules of how long a traditional marriage must last in order to qualify for Social Security benefits as a spouse, ex-spouse or widow/widower.

As is typical of this complex government program, there is a different answer for each category and exceptions to every rule.

The shortest length-of-marriage requirement applies to survivor benefits. Spousal benefits are equal to 100% of what a worker received or was entitled to receive at the time of death. Even if a worker dies before full retirement age, his or her surviving spouse is entitled to benefits based on the worker’s earning record assuming the deceased had worked at least 10 years to qualify for Social Security benefits (or even less in some cases)..

Generally, a person can qualify for widow’s or widower’s benefits if he or she was married to the deceased worker for at least nine months just before the worker died. However, the nine-month rule is waived if:
–You are the mother or father of the worker’s biological child;
–You legally adopted the worker’s child while you were married to him or her and before the child attained age 18;
–The worker’s death was the result of an accident or while serving in the military on active duty.

To receive benefits as a spouse, you must be married to the worker for at least one year continuously at the time of application for Social Security benefits. Common law marriages are recognized in several states, and once entered into, are generally recognized by other states and by Social Security.

But even if you are not married, you may be able to qualify for Social Security spousal benefits if you and the worker are the natural parents of the worker’s child.

To qualify for benefits as a divorced spouse, you must have been married to your ex for at least 10 years and currently be unmarried. You can collect spousal benefits on your ex’s earning record as early as age 62, assuming your former spouse is also at least age 62, even if he or she has not yet applied for Social Security benefits.

If your former spouse dies, you may be entitled to survivor benefits—worth 100% of what he or she received—even if your ex-has remarried.

And, you can collect benefits as a surviving spouse or surviving divorced spouse even if you remarry, as long as you wait at least until age 60 to tie the knot again.