My girlfriend is 59 and widowed and no children. She has met a wonderful man and wants to remarry. Her mother,in her 80's, keeps telling her if she remarries she will loose money, and be unable to collect her deceased spouse's social security. I know that she probably has put in more money into SS than her deceased husband. We have tried to look online to answer this question, but it is confusing. What is the deal with collecting deceased SS?

Hi,

If your friend remarries prior to turning age 60 she won't be eligible for survivor benefits on her first husband's record for as long as her remarriage continues (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0406.html). However, a remarriage occurring at age 60 or later would have no effect on your friend's potential eligibility for widow's benefits.

Even if your friend's survivor benefit rate would be lower than her own retirement benefit rate, she may benefit by retaining her option to file for survivor benefits. For example, she might be able to draw reduced survivor benefits starting as early as age 60 and then switch to her own record at age 70 when her retirement benefit would reach it's highest possible rate.

Before remarrying, your friend might be well advised to use our maximization software to investigate her Social Security options so that she'll know what she may be giving up if she remarries prior to age 60.

Best, Jerry