Can I lose Social Security benefits if I get married? Why?
If you receive Social Security benefits, it’s important that you inform the SSA of any changes to your marital status.
Month after month, the Social Security Administration (SSA) issues millions of payments to recipients of Social Security benefits, with retired workers accounting for the vast majority of the program’s beneficiaries. Social Security’s list of recipients also includes disabled workers, and the surviving spouse or dependents of a deceased beneficiary.
According to the SSA, Social Security recipients have an obligation to inform the agency about their marital status and keep it updated when it changes.
Reporting a change in marital status to the Social Security Admin
Joining another person in marriage has implications for your financial situation. Therefore, it is extremely important that you report any change in status to the SSA, especially if it is affects your mailing address or your name.
The SSA gives you 10 days after the end of the month in which you got married to report the change. If you don’t, you could face a fine or even lose benefits.
Reporting any changes will help the SSA to continue to identify you, otherwise you may not receive your benefits. For example, if you change your second name when you get married, your benefits may be affected if they remain registered under your maiden name.
In the event that your financial situation changes as a result of the marriage and you receive overpayments, they will all have to be repaid to SSA. The agency reserves the right to reclaim the excess funds from future payments.
How to report a change to the SSA
If you recently got married and have not reported it to the SSA, you should take into account that, when doing so, the agency will request a marriage certificate. If you don’t have one, you can provide a certified statement from a religious record or a foreign record if you were married outside the country.
You can contact the SSA to inform the agency of your marriage or get more information by calling 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) Monday through Friday between 8:00 am – 7:00 pm. You can also contact your local Social Security office.
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