I am 68 and divorced and collecting SS retirement benefit. I want to remarry to a non US citizen in a foreign country who already has two children for me. We are currently leaving overseas and our two children have US citizen status and collecting child benefits but my fiancee has no social security number. Can she qualify for any benefits at all while I am alive or when I die ?

Hi,

If you marry your fiancée and she's not a U.S. resident then she could likely only be paid either spousal or survivor benefits from your Social Security record if you a) live together in the U.S. for at least 5 years (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0302610030), or b) she is a citizen of a country with which the U.S. has a Social Security totalization agreement. For more information, refer to the following Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10137.pdf.

Best, Jerry