Dear Rusty: Can I remarry or not?
Tuesday, May 23, 2017 11:44 am Dear Rusty: After a pretty difficult 32 years of marriage and ugly divorce a few years ago, I finally found the man of my dreams. We'd like to get married, but I'm collecting spousal benefits from my ex's Social Security record and I've been told that if I re-marry I'll lose those benefits. But I've also been told that I can remarry if I'm over 60 years old. My new guy is not collecting Social Security yet, although he is old enough to start if he chooses. So please help me. Can I remarry, or not?
Dear Bride: This is one of those things that always seems to cause confusion for those who are divorced, collecting Social Security and thinking about a second marriage. Let's start with some basics: The rules say that as an ex-wife you are entitled to spousal benefits if you are at least 62 years old, are not currently married, and were married to your ex for at least 10 years (and divorced for at least 2 if your ex is not yet collecting benefits). The benefit you are entitled to is ½ of your ex's primary insurance amount (or "PIA", the amount he is entitled to at his full retirement age). This, of course, would need to be higher than any benefit you would get on your own work record. That means that if you remarry now, regardless of your age, you will indeed lose your spousal benefit based upon your ex-husband's record.
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