I am marrying a woman who lost her husband in 2008... She is currently 55. She did not think about his social security benefits until somebody asked her about it after our private wedding last week. She learned she could be eligible at 60 or 62 if she remains unmarried...but we just got married I asked the officiant to withhold the formal legal filing of the marriage signed certificate until we sort this out. Are we better off to treat our marriage as a ceremonial affair and stop completion of the certificate with our county clerk? How does social security office verify marriage?

Hi,

Social Security recognizes the laws of individual states with regard to the validity of a marriage. So, if your marriage is a valid marriage based on the laws of your state, then your wife wouldn't be able to qualify for Social Security survivor benefits on the record of her former spouse throughout the duration of your marriage. However, if your wife was already eligible for disabled widow's benefits from her former husband's record at the time of your marriage, those benefits wouldn't be terminated due to her remarriage (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0406.html).

You may want to consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze the options available to you and your wife with and without a remarriage.

Best, Jerry