Q & A
I am 60 years old. I have only worked sparingly throughout my life and will get a very small Social Security check. I was counting on sharing in my husband’s much larger check. But suddenly, after 39 years of marriage, he has decided he wants a change. He’s moved in with another woman. He wants a divorce, but I don’t want to give it to him because I don’t want this other woman getting all of his Social Security and leaving me with nothing. He is 61 and is still working and I don’t think he will retire until he’s 70. What can I do?
Answer: The best thing you can do, at least from a Social Security perspective, is divorce this man. And that’s because the rules provide a bit of a break to a divorced woman. I’ll explain. As long as you are married to him, the law says you can’t get any spousal benefits on his record until he applies for his own benefits. And if he plans to hold off until age 70 to do that, you’ve got a long financial dry spell ahead of you. But another law says a divorced woman can get benefits from her ex’s Social Security even if he hasn’t applied for benefits himself. He merely has to be old enough for Social Security, which means age 62. Read more…
Source: By Tom Margenau, Senior Living