How Your Marital Status Changes Your Social Security

Your marital status will determine more of your retirement than almost everything else you’ll do, and odds are nobody ever told you that. Whether single, married, divorced, or widowed; each determines a different set of Social Security rules. The difference between knowing them and not can add up to hundreds of dollars a month for the rest of your life.

Many women experience this confusion at the worst time – either they’re about to file, recently become alone after a divorce or loss of a spouse, and trying to make a permanent decision during a “fog”. So, let’s beat this problem head-on rather than being stuck behind it.

Start with these four 2026 numbers

I want you to hold onto several key figures because everything we’ll discuss will build upon these. Your monthly checks increased 2.8% due to the cost-of-living increase (COLA) this year. That’s the yearly bump that keeps your payment in step with what groceries and gas now cost. Full retirement age (FRA), the point at which you can collect 100% of what you paid in through your working years, is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Two additional important numbers will surface as we continue. For 2026, the maximum of your income that can contribute to Social Security taxes is $184,500. So, any earnings beyond this threshold don’t increase the size of your potential benefit. Someone retiring at FRA (in 2026) could earn up to $4,152 a month. Few people hit that level, because it takes 35-plus years of very high earnings, but it’s good to know where the ceiling sits.

If you never married

This is the simplest case: your Social Security check is based on your own work and nothing else. You build up credits over the years you work and pay into Social Security, and your monthly check is built from your 35 highest-earning years. No one else’s record feeds into yours.

You can begin receiving payments as early as age 62; however, I want you to first see the impact of doing so. You reduce your monthly benefit permanently if you claim before age 67. If you wait until 67 or older, it keeps climbing until 70, and then it stops growing. Since there’s no reward for waiting longer than that, your timing is the one lever you control.

If you’re married

While married, you have choices: you can claim based on your own record, or claim a spousal benefit based on your spouse’s record. Also, you can choose to claim the larger of the two amounts. A spousal benefit can equal 50 percent of the higher earner’s benefit at full retirement age. To access a spousal benefit you usually need to be at least age 62, and your spouse needs to have filed for their own benefits before you filing for spousal benefits.

One important thing about spousal benefits: they drop below 50 percent when you claim before your own full retirement age. And once you reach full retirement age, the spousal benefit stops growing, while your own keeps climbing until 70.

If you’re divorced

Divorce often affects many women without warning, so please listen carefully: if you’re divorced, you may be eligible to claim on your former husband’s Social Security record. But the rules are strict. First, your marriage must have existed for 10 years. Second, you must be unmarried right now. Third, both you and your former husband must be at least age 62.

Also, if your former husband hasn’t applied for his benefits yet? You can apply for benefits using his record, as long as it has been at least two years since your divorce. Here’s another thing that should put you at ease about claiming on your former husband’s record. Applying for benefits under his record doesn’t hurt his application or current spouse. Also, neither he nor his current spouse will receive notification that you filed for benefits under his record. The benefit amount received through this method is the same as the spousal benefit amount available and won’t exceed 50 percent of his full retirement age value.

If you have lost a spouse

If you’re a surviving spouse, you can receive a survivor benefit the same as up to 100 percent of what your deceased spouse was collecting or would have collected. You can file for survivor benefits as early as age 60, or 50 if disabled. I want to remind you that claiming survivor benefits before reaching full retirement age will result in a reduced benefit.

Survivor benefits give you flexibility the other two don’t. When you file for a survivor benefit, you can hold off on claiming your own retirement benefit until later, so you end up with the largest benefit overall. So, plan accordingly before making a final determination.

How a new marriage changes your benefits

A new marriage hits survivor and spousal benefits differently, and one birthday does most of the work: 60. Marry before 60 and you usually give up a survivor benefit from a late spouse. Marry at 60 or later (or 50 or later if disabled) and you usually keep it.

Spousal benefits created through divorce operate by a stricter set of rules than survivor benefits. If you’re drawing spousal benefits from a living ex-spouse and marry again; you automatically lose eligibility for spousal benefits from your ex-spouse’s record. There are limited exceptions to this rule; so if you’re considering wearing a wedding band on one hand and preserving your Social Security benefits on the other hand; contact Social Security before committing to get clarification about your specific circumstances.

The 2025 Social Security Fairness Act and two old penalties

If you or your late spouse worked in jobs that didn’t require contributions to Social Security (for example certain teachers, firefighters, or police officers who received a separate pension); this part is important, because it may put money back in your pocket. On January 5th, 2025, the Social Security Fairness Act became federal law.

This act eliminated two penalties that had cut checks for people who had those pensions. The Government Pension Offset was the bigger one for many women, since it reduced or entirely erased spousal or survivor benefits. The Windfall Elimination Provision was the other, and it cut into your own benefit. Both penalties were repealed retroactively to January 1st, 2024 and SSA has been recalculating claims and sending out funds owed due to the removal of these penalties. So, if your check was impacted due to having a non-covered pension; contact SSA immediately and ensure they update your records reflecting the elimination of these penalties.

What I want you to do before you file

All of the above is the general shape of the rules; however, the exact dollar amounts; percentage reductions; and unique scenarios depend on individual factors including your employment history and birth year. So set up a free my Social Security account at www.ssa.gov and view estimates based on your individual factors. The estimate displayed on the computer screen is what ultimately matters.

Also; if your scenario includes divorce; survivor benefits; or non-covered pensions; don’t go it alone. Contact Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or consult with a licensed financial professional who will examine your entire situation. The short time required to discuss with a representative now can lead to a greater monthly deposit throughout the remainder of your lifetime – which is worth an afternoon.

Sources

• 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet | SSA
• Social Security Announces 2.8 Percent Benefit Increase for 2026 | SSA
• Social Security Fairness Act: WEP and GPO update | SSA
• Who can get Survivor benefits | SSA
• Will Remarrying Affect My Social Security Benefits? | SSA
• What is the maximum Social Security retirement benefit payable? | SSA

Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash