Included in the myriad of questions that I regularly receive from readers are questions about how a divorced person can collect benefits based upon his or her ex-spouse’s Social Security record. For a divorcee (as with many married couples) sometimes the ex’s benefits represent the lion’s share of the couple’s SS record. Because of this, many divorcees are very interested in knowing what benefits are available to them, and when. In addition, even when the divorced spouse in question is not the higher earner there are questions about benefits that can be quite difficult to find answers for.
social security survivor benefits
8 Questions: Social Security Survivor Benefits
In this previous article we addressed some of the most common questions about Social Security Spousal Benefits. Keeping with the theme of developing FAQ sheets, today I’ll go through some of the most common questions about Social Security Survivor Benefits. Survivor Benefits are available when a Social Security recipient passes away and leaves surviving dependents – spouse, children, and other dependent family members.
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Social Security and the Non-Citizen Spouse
With our increasingly global society today, many married couples are made up of a US citizen and a non-citizen. In some cases, the non-citizen spouse has never been covered by the US Social Security system – he or she may have been covered by another system in his or her home country. In other cases, the non-citizen spouse may have worked in a Social Security-covered job while living in the US, and so may have generated a Social Security earnings record of his or her own. At any rate, it is important to know that your lawful spouse who is a non-citizen may be eligible for Social Security benefits based on your earnings. As long as other qualifications are met (length of marriage, age of the spouse, and your filing status with Social Security), your non-citizen spouse may qualify for Spousal Benefits based upon your record. By the same token, your […]
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Social Security Spousal Benefits versus Survivor Benefits
I’ve written a lot about Social Security Spousal Benefits and Survivor Benefits on these pages, but oftentimes there is confusion about how they are applied. There are things about them that are common, but for the most part there are some real differences that you need to understand as you make decisions about applying for one or the other of these benefits. For one thing – Survivor Benefits and Spousal Benefits are benefits that you may be entitled to that are based on someone else’s record: your spouse (or ex-spouse) to be exact. No matter what your own Social Security benefit might be, you have access to the Spousal Benefit and Survivor Benefit, if, of course, you have or had a spouse with a Social Security retirement benefit available on his or her record. In addition, it is important to note that Spousal Benefits and Survivor Benefits are mutually exclusive. […]
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Social Security Filing Strategies for Surviving Spouses
There are a couple of strategies for Social Security filing that surviving spouses can use to maximize benefits throughout their lifetimes. The important factor to keep in mind for the surviving spouse is that filing for Survivor Benefits (based on your late spouse’s record) has no impact on filing for Social Security benefits based on your own record – other than the fact that you cannot file for both benefits at the same time. Coordinating these two benefits (Surviving Spouse benefits and your own benefits) can take a couple of different paths: you could file for the Surviving Spouse benefit first, allowing your own benefit to accrue Delay Credits up to as late as age 70; or you could file for your own benefit first, and then later file for the Surviving Spouse benefit. Sue’s husband Steve passed away when Sue was 61 years of age. Steve had just turned […]
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Important Ages for Social Security
There are many specific important ages to know as you’re planning your Social Security filing strategy. The ages can become quite confusing and jumbled together as you plan. It’s important to know at what age you can take specific actions, as well as what the consequences can be if you take a particular action earlier than it is appropriate. These ages are pervasive throughout this blog and my book, but I hadn’t compiled all of the important ages into a single place, so listed below are what I have determined to be the most important ages with regard to Social Security, as well as what is important about that age. Enjoy! Age Description 22-62 This is the forty years during which your monthly earnings are compiled to develop your initial Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME). This figure is then used to determine your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) which is used […]
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Earnings Tests Apply to Spousal and Survivor Social Security Benefits As Well
If you’re receiving Spousal or Survivor Social Security benefits and you’re under Full Retirement Age, you need to know that any earnings that you have can have an impact on the benefits that you’re receiving. These are the same limits that apply to regular retirement Social Security benefits, and they apply in the same manner. For 2013, if you will not reach Full Retirement Age during this calendar year, the earnings limit is $15,120, or $1,260 per month. For every $2 over that limit that you earn for the year, your Social Security benefit will be reduced by $1. For example, if you earned $20,000 for the year, you are over the limit by $4,880, and you’ll lose $2,440 of your benefit. If you will reach Full Retirement Age in 2013, the earnings limit is $40,080, or $3,340 per month – and the treatment is different. In this case, for […]
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How is the Social Security Survivor Benefit Calculated?
This is one of those very complicated and difficult to understand areas of the Social Security universe, but it’s very important to know what amount of benefits a surviving spouse will be eligible for upon the passing of his or her spouse. There are different rules that apply, depending upon whether or not the late spouse was already receiving benefits based on his or her own record, as well as the age of the surviving spouse when he or she begins receiving survivor benefits. We’ll look at the easy one first: when the late or decedent spouse was not already receiving benefits based on his or her own record. When The Decedent Spouse Was Not Receiving Benefits In the case where the late spouse had not already begun to receive benefits based upon his or her own record, there are three factors that you need to take into account: the […]
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A Social Security Option Strictly for Divorced Folks
There is a loophole in the rules surrounding how divorced folks’ Social Security benefits are treated. As you may know from other articles you’ve read here and elsewhere, if you were married for at least ten years and you’ve been divorced for two years, as long as your ex is at least age 62, you are eligible to file for a Spousal Benefit based upon the ex’s record. In addition, as long as you fit the circumstances, if your ex passes away before you, you will have access to his or her Social Security benefit amount as a Survivor Benefit. These things are pretty much the same as if you were still married to your ex-spouse. There’s one rule that is different for ex-spouses than for a married couple – and it has to do with the restricted application for Spousal Benefits. Restricted Application for Spousal Benefits If you’ll recall, […]
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“Swim With Jim” Radio Interview by Jim Ludwick
I recently had the honor of being interviewed on the radio by Mr. Jim Ludwick, a colleague that I admire and look up to a great deal. Jim is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professional, and his practice is based in Odenton, Maryland with additional offices in Washington, DC, Santa Barbara, California, San Mateo, California, and New York City. Jim also is a fellow member of the Garrett Planning Network. In the interview we talk very briefly about some of the important factors of Social Security that baby boomers need to address as they plan for Social Security benefits. You can follow Jim’s radio program on BlogTalkRadio; his channel is Swim With Jim. Listen to internet radio with Swim with Jim on Blog Talk Radio To hear the interview, click the “Play” button above. In the interview I mention that it can be helpful to have an advisor work with you […]
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Wealth Defense: When Should You Start Social Security Benefits?
The foregoing is a re-post of an article that I wrote which was included in The Motley Fool’s Rule Your Retirement newsletter. Enjoy! Want to double a chunk of your retirement income? It’s easy — just delay taking Social Security by about six years! OK, so it’s not really that simple. The time to apply for Social Security benefits is different for each individual; there is no magical “best age” for everyone. Thus, to maximize your benefit, it’s important to understand the consequences of choosing to apply at different ages. It all starts with the most important age: your full retirement age, or FRA (see table below). If you receive your Social Security retirement benefit before your FRA, the benefit will be reduced. The biggest reduction is at age 62, the earliest you can begin receiving benefits (except for widows and widowers, who can begin survivors’ benefits at 60). Year […]
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Why It Can Be So Important to Delay Social Security Benefits
It seems like every time I write an article about Social Security benefits that includes a recommendation to delay benefits, I get a lot of responses from well-meaning folks who disagree, sometimes vehemently, with the conclusions. There are several points of view that I see in the responses, all believing that you should start taking benefits as soon as you’re eligible: you never know how long you’re going to live; Social Security is going broke, we all know it; IT’S MINE, DADGUMMIT, THEY OWE IT TO ME; and it’s all part of a huge conspiracy; among other reasons too numerous to mention. Believe me, I have no reason to recommend that people do something that isn’t in their best interests. As a financial planner, my job is to help folks do things that are in their best financial interests all the time. Sometimes those things that I recommend run counter […]
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Important Factors When Planning Social Security for Couples
Planning for Social Security benefits for a couple can be complicated. There are many factors to consider, including the amount of benefits each member of the couple is entitled to at various ages, as well as the relative ages of the spouses to one another. Other factors include whether or not one member of the couple (or both) will earn wages past age 62, as well as longevity: the potential of the couple (at least one member) living past normal life expectancy. Longevity is one of the most important factors to consider – and for a couple this isn’t as straightforward as it is for one person. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Annuity 2000 table, a couple who are both age 50 stand a 50% chance of one member living to at least 91 years of age. For another example, if the husband is 62 and the […]
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Additional Factors About Survivor Benefits
Seems like there is always something to learn. No matter how much you know and study a subject, it seems there are always factors that are uncovered that you weren’t aware of – and I find this sort of thing from time to time. Recently, I have been made aware of a couple of factors that I had misunderstood previously about Social Security Survivor Benefits – thanks to my friend Dana Anspach, who blogs over at MoneyOver55.About.com. Thanks Dana! Limit on Reductions to Survivor Benefits The first factor is one that I wasn’t even aware of – regarding how reductions on Survivor Benefits work in a very specific situation. The situation is when the deceased spouse was not at least at Full Retirement Age and he or she was receiving retirement benefits as of the date of death. In this situation, the amount of benefit that is used to begin […]
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Calculating the PIA
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH (Photo credit: mademoiselle louise) In determining your retirement benefits from Social Security, as well as those of any dependents who may claim benefits based upon your record, the Primary Insurance Amount, or PIA, is an important factor. The PIA is the amount of benefit that you would receive if you began receiving benefits at exactly your Full Retirement Age, or FRA. (see this article for information about determining your FRA). The PIA is only one of the factors used in determining the actual amount of your retirement benefit – the other factor being the date (or rather your age) when you elect to begin receiving retirement benefits. So, how is PIA calculated? There are several factors that go into the calculation of the PIA. You start off with your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME – which we defined in this article about the AIME). Then, we take […]
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When to File For Social Security Benefits
Image via Wikipedia All future Social Security recipients face this question at some point: When should I file for benefits? As you are likely aware, age 62 is the earliest that you can file for benefits. By filing at this age, you will begin receiving your benefit at a reduced amount – perhaps as much as 30% reduced. Waiting to file until your Full Retirement Age (FRA) will allow you to receive the full benefit amount, without reductions. You could also wait until age 70 to file for benefits, which would result in an overall increase to your monthly benefit amount, by as much as 32% in some cases. Granted, you will have foregone several years’ worth of payments if you wait to file at some age later than 62, but on average, it all works out about the same (with a few exceptions). The way that these reductions and […]
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One More File and Suspend Option
Image via Wikipedia We’ve discussed the file and suspend option in multiple articles, but did you know that there is one more option for file and suspend. This is one that provides you with the opportunity to earn delayed retirement credits (DRCs) on your Social Security benefits, even if you started receiving benefits early. File and suspend is generally an option that is used by a married couple – providing a method by which one of the two can receive Spousal Benefits while the other delays receiving benefits until later, earning DRCs. (For more on this, see this article on Spousal Benefits.) This additional option is available at Full Retirement Age (FRA), just like otherwise. But what’s different about this is that the suspend option is used when you’ve already been receiving benefits, most likely early at a reduced rate, and by suspending at FRA you make yourself eligible to […]
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