Marrying a Partner on SSI Could Cut Her Federal Benefits

Millions of older Americans face a high-stakes financial calculation before walking down the aisle: will marriage cost a partner their federal benefits? A 67-year-old woman who has been living with her boyfriend for four years stands to potentially lose two separate income streams — Supplemental Security Income and divorced spouse Social Security benefits — if the couple legally weds, according to a reader question addressed by MarketWatch.

SSI is a needs-based federal program administered by the Social Security Administration, and it imposes strict income and resource limits on recipients. When two people marry, the SSA generally considers both spouses' income and assets when determining eligibility — a policy known as "deeming." If the new husband's income or savings push the household above SSI thresholds, his wife's benefit could shrink significantly or disappear entirely.

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The divorced spouse benefit adds another layer of complexity. A person can collect up to 50% of an ex-spouse's Social Security record if they were married at least 10 years and remain unmarried. Remarriage typically ends that entitlement immediately, forcing the individual to rely solely on their own earnings record, which may be substantially lower.

For couples in this situation, the financial penalty for formalizing a long-term relationship can amount to hundreds or even thousands of dollars in lost monthly income. Some couples opt to remain legally unmarried specifically to preserve benefit eligibility — a difficult trade-off between legal protections that marriage provides and economic survival in retirement. Consulting a Social Security specialist or elder law attorney before making any decision is widely recommended by financial planners.

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