How does social security know if you are married?

Social Security provides financial support to eligible beneficiaries, including retired workers, disabled individuals, and their dependents. One of the factors that may affect a worker’s eligibility for benefits and the amount of benefit they receive is their marital status. Whether you are married or planning to get married, you must report changes in your marital status to Social Security.

Social Security determines your marital status based on the information you provide when applying for benefits or updating your Social Security records. When applying for benefits, you will be required to provide your personal information, including your name, age, Social Security number, and marital status. For specific benefits like spousal or survivor benefits, you will be required to provide your spouse’s name and their Social Security number.

Will marriage affect Social Security benefits?

In most cases, a marriage or divorce won’t affect your Social Security benefits. If you and your spouse are receiving Social Security retirement benefits based on each individual’s work record and earnings history, the benefits will continue regardless of the life change. If you are collecting disability benefits, you will continue receiving these benefits in the same amount as before.

If you are receiving spousal benefits and get divorced, you will continue receiving these benefits as long as you meet the eligibility requirements. You must be age 62 or older, and the marriage must have lasted for at least 10 years to be eligible for spousal benefits on your ex-spouse’s record.

Remarriage can affect your Social Security benefits if you are collecting survivor benefits on a deceased or former spouse’s record. If you are divorced and receive spousal benefits on your living spouse’s record, the benefit will end if you remarry at any age. If you are receiving survivor benefits on your deceased spouse’s record, you will lose benefits if you remarry before age 60, or 50 if you are disabled. However, if you remarry after 60, or 50 if disabled, the survivor benefits won’t be affected.

How long do you have to report the marriage to social security?

If you are getting married or remarried, you should report your marriage to Social Security as soon as possible. If you receive SSI benefits, you must report the life change within a 10-day period after the end of the month to avoid losing benefits. However, you will continue receiving retirement and disability benefits.

For most people, marriage often means a name change, and you will need to apply for a replacement Social Security card under your new name. You should also inform your employer about your new name so that your earnings can be recorded and reported accordingly.

If you change your name without reporting the change to Social Security, and your earnings are reported under your former name, your earnings and Form W-2 may be recorded incorrectly. You should report any life changes like marriage and remarriage, as soon as possible to avoid delays in receiving payments when you claim Social Security benefits.

What happens if you don't report the marriage to social security?

If you fail to report a change in marital status, you risk forfeiting your eligibility for certain Social Security benefits, including spousal benefits and survivor benefits. For example, if you are eligible for spousal benefits, but Social Security does not know your marital status, you may miss out on these benefits.

If you receive SSI benefits, and you do not report the life change on time, you may be underpaid, overpaid, or forfeit the full benefits. Social Security will apply a penalty that will reduce or cancel your benefits for not reporting the information needed to determine your eligibility for SSI benefits. If you don't report the change during the 10-day period after the end of the month, Social Security may impose a sanction to cancel your benefits for 6, 12, or 24 months.

Additionally, if you change your name after a marriage, and your bank account's name does not match the Social Security check or direct deposit, the bank will refund these payments to Social Security. This also applies when you change your address, but fail to report the address change to Social Security.

Does Social Security verify marriage?

When determining your eligibility for Social Security benefits, Social Security may require proof of marriage to verify your marriage. 

You may be required to provide proof of marriage documents such as a marriage certificate, a certified public record of marriage, or a certified statement of a religious record of marriage to establish the marital relationship. You must provide the original copy or a copy certified by the custodian of the record.

Social Security may also verify the marriage by checking with the State Vital Records office or a foreign marriage office if the marriage occurred overseas. Social Security can also contact the spouse directly to verify the marital relationship.

How to change your name on your Social Security card

If you change your name due to marriage, re-marriage, or divorce, you should notify Social Security as soon as possible to receive a replacement Social Security card. You can request a replacement Social Security under your new name by filing out Form SS-5-Application for a Social Security card. You should mail the form to the Social Security address or deliver it to the local Social Security office.

You will be required to provide certain documents that prove your new legal name and identity. To prove your new name, you may be required to provide a marriage certificate, a divorce decree, a court order granting the name change, or a certificate of US naturalization.

To prove your identity, you will be required to provide an active government-issued photo ID such as a US passport, birth certificate, driver's license, or a state-issued identification card. In some cases, Social Security may accept a military ID, a health insurance card, an employer ID, or a school ID.