Please DO NOT POST questions in the comment section. They cannot be answered.
This post has lots of good information. The link to the Social Security Administration–SSA.gov–leads to even more. The resources posted by the government will answer all your specific questions. Everyone’s situation is different, but the basic principles are posted by the Social Security Administration. They also have other online resources and publications, staff located throughout the country, telephone access, in-person access, etc. Go to SSA.gov and look for the materials that pertain to your specific situation. If that doesn’t help, go to http://www.ssa.gov/pgm/reach.htm and you can find out other ways to contact the Social Security Administration.
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The Social Security Administration lists the criteria for claiming a divorced spouse’s insurance benefits:
A. The worker is entitled to retirement or disability insurance benefits;
B. You have filed an application for divorced spouse’s benefits;
C. You are not entitled to a retirement or disability insurance benefit based on a primary insurance amount which equals or exceeds one-half the worker’s primary insurance amount;
D. You are age 62 or over;
E. You are not married; and
F. You were married to the worker for 10 years before the date the divorce became final.
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The divorced spouse of a worker who is not entitled to retirement or disability insurance benefits, but who has reached age 62 and is fully insured, can become independently entitled to benefits on the worker’s earnings record. To do so, however, the divorced spouse must meet the requirements in (B)-(F) above and have been divorced from the worker for not less than two continuous years.
Benefits end when either
A.The spouse dies;
B. The worker dies (in this case the spouse may be entitled to widow(er)’s, mother’s, or father’s benefits);
C. The worker’s entitlement to disability insurance benefits ends and he or she is not entitled to retirement insurance benefits (unless the divorce spouse meets the requirements for an independently entitled divorced spouse, as explained in �311);
D. The spouse is under age 62 and there no longer is a child of the worker under age 16 or disabled who is entitled to child’s insurance benefits;
E. The spouse becomes entitled to retirement or disability insurance benefits and his or her primary insurance amount is at least one-half of the worker’s primary insurance amount;
F. The spouse and the worker are divorced, unless:
1. The spouse had already turned 62 when the divorce became final; and
2. The spouse and the worker had been married for 10 years before the date the divorce became final;
G. The spouse qualified for benefits only under the conditions explained in �306, and one of the following events occurs:
1. The spouse enters into a valid marriage with someone other than the worker;
2. Prior to January 1991, monthly benefits are awarded on the same earnings record to another person who qualifies as the legal spouse of the worker under the conditions in � 306; or
3. Prior to January 1991, the spouse obtains a divorce from the worker;
H. The spouse qualified for benefits only under the conditions explained in � 306 and later learns that the marriage is invalid;
I. The divorced spouse marries someone other than the worker. However, the divorced spouse’s benefit will not be ended by marrying an individual entitled to divorced spouse’s, widow(er)’s, mother’s, father’s, or parent’s monthly benefits, or to an individual age 18 or over who is entitled to childhood disability benefits; or
J. For an independently entitled divorced spouse, the worker is no longer fully insured or he or she marries the worker.
A spouse is not entitled to spouse’s insurance benefits for the month in which any one of the above events occurs.
Remarriage affects benefits as follows:
406.1 Does the remarriage of a widower or surviving divorced spouse affect widow(er)’s benefits?
Your remarriage after age 60 does not prevent you from becoming entitled to benefits on your prior deceased spouse’s Social Security earnings record.
406.2 Does the remarriage of a disabled widower or surviving divorced spouse affect widow(er)’s benefits?
Your remarriage does not prevent you from becoming entitled to benefits on your prior deceased spouse’s Social Security earnings records as long as:
Your remarriage occurs after you turn 50; and
Your remarriage occurs after you become disabled.
Note: If you remarry before you turn 50, you will not be entitled to survivor’s benefits, unless the marriage ends.
406.3 How does remarriage of a widow(er) or a surviving divorced spouse before age 60 affect widow(er)’s benefits?
If you remarry before age 60, you will not be entitled to survivor’s benefits, unless:
Your subsequent marriage ends, whether by death, divorce, or annulment; or
Your marriage occurred after age 50 and you were entitled to benefits as a disabled widow(er) or disabled surviving divorced spouse.
406.4 How does the termination of a remarriage of a widow(er) or surviving divorced spouse before age 60 affect widow(er)’s benefits?
If you remarry before you turn 60 and that marriage ends, you may become entitled or re-entitled to benefits on your prior deceased spouse’s earnings record. Your benefits begin the month the subsequent marriage ends. If the remarriage was absolutely void or was annulled from the beginning, see �1853.
I am a divorced Navy Officer’s wife. I need to fill out all the necessary forms to begin retirement procedures. Who do I contact? When the divorce as filed does the attorney sent that information to the Navy Retirement Office? Please inform me of the procedures.
Is there any means of me getting a commisary card or any of the benefits that I had prior to the divorce? Please let me know immediately. My former spouse is married again. Thanks Ella Matthewsw
my first husband and i was married and had only children we was divoce he never remarried and i never remarried , until he passed away, iam 65 now .can i draw his retirement?
i was marreed and had two children we was divoce he never married again and i nevre married again untill he passed away. i am 65 now can ireceive retirement now?
hello, my sister applied for ssc. to start collecting oct 09…she was married for 20 yrs and have been divorced over 10 yrs….we found out she should have applied for spousal benefits instead..how can she reverse application?.thank you..p.s. she will be 63yrs. in aug 09 and is still working…
I am a second wife and heard that my husbands first wife and two adult children are entitled to his pension and social security. Is it correct?
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW TO COLLECT ON MY EX HUSBANDS SOCIAL SECURITY? he is 72 and worked until age70. Iam almost 65. He was a teacher and I CANT GET ANY INFORMATION FROM SOC.SECURITY BECAUSE THEY SAID THAT TEACHERS HAVE THEIR OWN UNION. WE WERE MARRIED 13 YEARS. IF YOU CAN HELP ME FIGURE THIS OUT I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
DO YOU ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS?
My husband and I were married for 21 yrs. We recently divorced, he has remarried, but I haven’t. Am I entitled to his diasble social security if some reason I get disabled?
my husband and l have been living together for 34 yrs. all of a sudden he decided to leave we have three children that at old enough to provided for them self l would like to know if l am intitled to anything even though we were not married?
how do i read other comments
Overthe last six months, I have contacted SS five times only to be told they do not knowthe answer to my only question. The SS reps have offered calll me back with the answer, but of course, they do not.
My ex-spouse and I were married more than ten years, one-half of his SS will be considerably more than mine, even if I wait until I am full retirement age to take it at 66. He has remarried, I have not.
He will take his SS benefits this year at age 62, with the 25% reduction. His current wife will have to take the same 25% reduction when she draws off his SS, no matter what age she is, per the SS reps I have talked to.
My question is: as an ex-spouse, does the same rule apply to me? Will I be forced to take the same 25% reduction also? N o one has been able to answer this yet. Recently, I spoke to a 18 year SS employee – he said he had never been asked that question before and HIS supervisor didn’t know either. They were some of the five reps that offered to call me back with an answer – which never happened. THIS IS NOT ADDRESSED AT THE WEBSITE.. THE SS REPS CAN’T FIND IT AND I CAN’T EITHER. Okay, who has the answer for all of us in this position? I knowI can’t be the only one!!!!! Thanks……Dee
I HAVE NO II DEA WHY THE ABOVE MESSAGE IS SUCH A MESS – THAT WAS NOT WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE WHEN I SUBMITTED IT! DEE
I was divorce in 1990 after 18 years of marrige and remarried later that year.My exwife was remarried for over a year. now she is divorced. her ex is deceased can she draw on my ssdisabity. will this affect my ssdisabity.she is under 60 and working,and has no depentants.
thank you
dave salter
I am 70 and plan to remarry. Will my SS be cut off if I do? My boyfriend is 69. Will his SS be cut off also if he marries me?
i am 20 and i have 3 children with 2 different fathers. i am ingaged to a 63 year old man and he draws social security, he tells me when we get married we will all 4 be able to get ss. but my questions are…
will we be available to draw it aswell?
will it effect my childsupport i have yet to get from the fathers of my children?
also will the checks be made out to the man or me?
im just trying to figure this out it is very complicated for me as to he and i have such a age difference!
I was married to my husband for seven years, divorced for a year and remarried him for 9 years. He then remarried another woman who is 60 and disabled. He has passed and I was wondering if I can draw on his social security when I turn 60, I am 56 now.
I was married to my exhusband for 20+ year and had 4 chidlren ,which are all over 18 now. I have since become disabled. He has remarried and is still living but is disabled also. We are both over 62.
Currently I am on SSI benefits becasue I am partially paralyzed on my left side from a stroke and I do not have any SSC benefits. Would this qualify me to collect on his SSC benefits since he is not deceased?
Question
If my ex husband becomes disabled at 52 years old, can I start getting part of the social security? I am unemployed and 54 years old woman (we were married for 16 years) I live in California.
my ex husband of 20 years passed on. I remarried and divorced after 15 years.. he remarried she is still living
Am I still able to draw of his social security? if so at what age .
I WAS MARRIED FOR 21YEARS I HAVE REMARRIED IN 2008, HE HAS ALSO REMARRIED BEFORE I DID .I AM 55YEARS OLD.AND I AM ON UNEMPLOYMENT AND IT WILL SOON RUN OUT. DO I HAVE TO WAIT TILL IAM 62 YEARS OLD? THANK YOU FOR ANY HELP.
if my x wife passed am i intiled to her ssi
i will be 62 in sept and my doc just put me on disabity but i have not sign up yet,im self employed and not married.can i draw off of my childrew dad of 16 years to help.thank you
I am divorced and disabled, I am curently on disability but I still do not make enough money for myself and my two children. I was married to him for a little over 10 years. Is it true that I can draw off of his social security also?
I have been divorced for many years, but can an ex-spouse receive their deceased spouse social security disability if they are not 62. I am only 59 and he is 64.
My fiance ane I were each married before. I was married for 17 years. He was married for about 10 years the 1st time and dicvorced then remarried the same woman again and was married to her for around 10 years again. Once they each pass away who do I off of? Who am I allowed to draw off of? I have no idea how this works.
i have been disabled since 1999. drawning ss disbilitly for 8yrs my husband passed away 7yrs ago
we where married for 28yrs before he passed. is it true i can drawn is ss at my age of 50yrs old
since i am disabled? and if i was to get married again would i still be able to drawn his ? i dont know how to found out this info. and i dont get much on my ss disbility. can anyone help me with these questions please
Great questions, how about some answers.
I was married twice, with the first marriage being 7 years in length and the other also 7 years. Both not being a straight 10 years in length. I have been home the majority of the time caring for children, and still am, as I have a disabled child from both marriages whom I still care for as adults. Because of this my work history has been limited. Will I be able to collect anything from my former husbands social security benefits? Please let me know. Thank you.
Linda V.
If you marry more than once and each spouse passes away, can you get part of each deceased spouse SS? Each one was already receiving theirs already.
Can I collect Social Security Benefits on my ex husbands Social Security. We were married 37 years? He will be 62 in Mardh 2010?
My question is … My husband was married for 23 years to his now ex wife.. He is only 47 we have been married for 7 years now. So my question is, Now that i am his wife will, i be entitled to any of his benefits should he pass??? Would she be entitled to his benefits also, being she has never remarried?? Would both of us be entitled to any of it should he pass..??? I just wanted to know. So that i know what to do when the time comes..
I was married in 1982 and divorced in 1985 to the same woman i’ve been living with since 1982. We file taxes individually but have lived under the same roof since 1982 or 27 years. Can she be eligable for my ss benefit if i’m alive or deceased?
I was married for 12 years, my ex-husband is now deceased, will I get his social security benefits?
I have not remarried. I am 54 years of age, If I were to get married would I not be able to get his benefits
I want to know if my mother can draw SSI off her soon to be ex-husband? My mother is 56 and sense being with him she has been a house wife and worked there own business that he of course ran into the ground. Has left her penniless. Please advise. She was married to the man for 17 years.
i was married 19 yrs and have been divoriced 20yr. i am now 55 and will i be able to draw from ex-husbands ss. ex husband is now deceased.
Where are the answers to these questions?
why or where are th answers to these questions/ wh ypost questions if there aren’t any answers.. please advise. thanks, Tom
Judy and Anon are spot on: Where are the answers to these questions:?
Judy Booth said:
January 13th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Where are the answers to these questions?
Anonymous said:
January 17th, 2010 at 4:41 am
why or where are th answers to these questions/ wh ypost questions if there aren’t any answers.. please advise. thanks, Tom
I’m married for 2 years to a man that receives SSDI. He was previously married for 20 years to another woman, then divorced. Am I entitled to any benefits after his death?
I AM 61 YEARS OLD,I GET A RETIREMENT CHECK FROM MY JOB BUT I DONT GET SOCIAL SECURITY. AM I ENTITLED TO MY HUSBANDS SOCIAL SECURITY BEING THAT I HAVE BEEN DIVOICED 25 YEARS AND HE HAS REMARRIED.
I AM 61 YEARS OLD,I GET A RETIREMENT CHECK FROM MY JOB BUT I DONT GET SOCIAL SECURITY. AM I ENTITLED TO MY HUSBANDS SOCIAL SECURITY BEING THAT I HAVE BEEN DIVORCED 25 YEARS AND HE HAS REMARRIED.
He is cool about talking about he married the third time and adopted children.
she never married again after marrying him 2 times.
there is no answer to the above domestic questions
will you email an answer why should i wait any longer,
he has not proved he has a final judgement on my second divorce
and he is with this 3rd woman.
why should he be able to dictate to the social security administration
what happens to my spousal social security.
been waiting a year, does it build up?????????
bishop_here@yahoo.com
My husband was married 2 times before. His first wife he was married to for 12 years. His second wife for close to 5 years. If he should pass away or retire before we have been married for a certain length of time are they entitled to any of his social security?
MY HUSBAND WAS MARRIED 2 TIMES BEFORE. HIS FIRST WIFE NEVER REMARRIED AND THEY WERE MARRIED FOR 12 YEARS. HIS SECOND WIFE REMARRIED AND HER HUSBAND PASSED AWAY. ARE EITHER OF THEM ENTITLED TO HIS SOCIAL SECURITY IF HE DIES OR RETIRES.HE IS 52 NOW.WE WERE MARRIED IN 2005.
im 53 married at 48 ssn claims i was 2 yrs to young to be a widowed spouse.my 1st husband died 08/02/2009.i was married to 1st husband1973-1985. i have a disability since 1989. with my disability, divorce,and did my own work. why am i not due his ssa. is there some thing im missing out on?
I maarried a man that had been married for 42 years, and divorced nnow for 11 years. My first husband died in 1981 and I wonder if I am entitled to his social security now. My husband is still living, and has t pay his ex-wife $150.00 a monthe maintenance. She todl him that if he takes her back to court to reduce or get rid ot the maintenance payments, she will take half his social security. If she does try t ocalim half sis ss, will it come out of his ss check, or a differeant account?
I have been married for 19 years in June 2010. He is 65 and been retired and on Social Security and retirement benefits for about 2 years. I am 49 years old and contemplating divorce. We have two dependant children at home as well. I need to know if we do divorce, am I entitled to half of his social security benefits and his retirement as well?
I have been married for 19 years in June 2010. He is 65 and been retired and on Social Security and retirement benefits for about 2 years. I am 49 years old and contemplating divorce. We have two dependant children at home as well. I need to know if we do divorce, am I entitled to half of his social security benefits and his retirement as well?
So where are the answers to these questions?
I was married for 15 years, we divorced in 1988. I retired early due to medical disability and have just turned 59. My ex is still alive and remarried for the last 5 years. Will I be able to get half of his social security when I reach 59 1/2 under these circumstances? Please email or direct me to an answer along with where to obtain proper forms.
Thanks