My husband and I have only been married for a little over a year. I am 65 and he is 70 and are both collecting retirement Social Security benefits. Should one of us pass away, is the other spouse eligible for spousal death benefits? Is there a limit on how long you need to be married. We have been together 17 years now but only legally married for 1 year.

Hi. The answer is almost certainly yes. You've been married for long enough to meet the duration of marriage requirement for either spousal or survivor benefits. You only need to be married for 9 months to be able to potentially qualify for widow(er) benefits, and 12 months to potentially qualify for spousal benefits.

To be eligible for spousal benefits on the account of a living spouse, your primary insurance amount (PIA) must be less than 50% of your spouse's PIA. A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA). Even if you don't qualify for spousal benefits, though, the surviving member of a couple is usually eligible for the higher of the couple's two benefit rates. So, if you're receiving a lower benefit rate than your husband and if he dies first, you'll likely qualify for his higher rate instead of your own rate. And, vice versa.

Even if the spouse with the higher benefit rate dies first, the surviving spouse in your case will likely qualify for a one-time $255 lump-sum death benefit.

Best, Jerry