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Q&A: Spousal benefits require “one continuous year” of marriage

March 24, 2025 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: I want to apply for a benefit based on my spouse’s Social Security but how long do we have to have been married? I was not eligible until the Social Security Fairness Act changed the rules. We have been married for four years in May. I am not receiving Social Security benefits since I worked for over 30 years for the government and do not have enough credits to qualify based on my earnings.

Answer: You typically need to be married for “one continuous year” before applying for a spousal benefit, according to the Social Security Administration.

Had you divorced, the rules would be different. Divorced spousal benefits require the marriage to have lasted at least 10 years, and two years must have passed since the divorce.

For those who don’t know, the Social Security Fairness Act repealed the windfall elimination provision and the government pension offset that reduced or eliminated Social Security benefits for people who received pensions from jobs that didn’t pay into Social Security.

The Social Security Administration says most affected people will see their adjusted payments starting in April. Those who never applied for Social Security because of the old rules can do so now.

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Filed Under: Q&A, Social Security Tagged With: government pension offset, GPO, Social Security, Social Security benefits, Social Security Fairness Act, spousal benefits, WEP, windfall elimination provision

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Annie says

    March 30, 2025 at 9:27 am

    Dear Liz

    At what age can one get spousal benefits? I thought this benefit has been eliminated for certain age groups. Thanks.

    • Liz Weston says

      March 31, 2025 at 12:13 am

      Starting at 62, as long as the spouse has already applied for benefits. What was eliminated was the ability of the higher earner to apply for and then suspend their own benefits to trigger a spousal benefit. More here: https://www.aarp.org/social-security/faq/couples-file-and-suspend/

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