Q & A
How are Social Security spousal benefits allocated in a divorce situation
Full question: I was married to my husband for 35 years before he divorced me and married a much newer and better-equipped model (if you get my drift). They have even had a child together! I’m 62 and my ex is 65. If all his extra physical activity (if you get my drift again) causes the bum to drop dead, are the trophy wife and little love child going to get all his Social Security – leaving me with nothing?
Answer: Don’t worry. You’ll get a full share of Mr. Wonderful’s Social Security. Whenever two (and very infrequently three) women are due benefits on the same man’s Social Security account, they don’t offset one another. They each get whatever Social Security spousal benefits they are due.
And you might not even have to wait until he dies from exhaustion. You are possibly due divorced wife’s (not widow’s) benefits now already. At your age, you would be due about one third of his basic Social Security benefit – but only to the extent that it exceeds whatever you might be due on your own Social Security account. In other words, if a third of his Social Security is more than your own retirement benefit, then you will get that benefit plus whatever extra you are due on his record to take you up to that one third level. Read more…
Source: Tom Margenau, ArcaMax Publishing - 9/17/2014
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