I was married collecting spousal Social Security. I remarried in December 21 and never got notification they took my Medicare and Social Security away and just informed me now May 8 is this OK?

I was collecting spousal benefits from my ex-husband remarried and would like to collect off my new husband as of December 10 they drop my benefits never inform me and it is now May 8 what can I do about this I have no Medicare now thank you

Hi. I don't have enough information to give you a definite answer. What I can tell you is that if you were drawing divorced spousal benefits, those benefits should be terminated if you got remarried to someone other than the ex-spouse on whose account you were collecting benefits unless the person that you married is collecting either widow(er)'s, mother's, father's, childhood disability, divorced spouse's, or parents benefits (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0300202045). People receiving divorced spousal benefits are required to notify Social Security if they remarry, so you should have informed them about your new marriage so they could have stopped your benefits sooner if required.

However, if you're at least age 65 and you're a U.S. citizen, then you could still remain eligible for Medicare. But, unless you are insured for benefits based on your own earnings history or if you are eligible based on someone else's earnings history, you couldn't keep Part A Medicare coverage without paying a monthly premium. Part B Medicare coverage always requires payment of a monthly premium, but Part A coverage is normally free for people who are insured for benefits.

If your current spouse is collecting either Social Security retirement or disability benefits then you may be able to qualify for spousal benefits and Medicare coverage on his account. However, you would need to apply for those benefits. Whether or not you could claim benefits retroactively to December depends on your age at that time. If you were at least full retirement age (FRA) in December 2021, you could potentially claim spousal benefits retroactively to that month as long as you apply no later than June 30 2022. I would suggest calling Social Security so that they can look up your records and explain your options with regard to Medicare coverage and applying for benefits on your new spouse's account.

Best, Jerry