Ask Liz Weston

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Social Security

Q&A: Calculating Social Security benefits when a lengthy marriage ends

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Dear Liz: I was married for 18 years before filing for a divorce. I am 71 and my husband is 76 and still working full time. He waited until he was 70 to collect his Social Security. Social Security told me to wait to file until he did to collect the maximum amount. I did, and then they told me that 50% of his benefit is less than my own benefit. Therefore I do not qualify to get benefits as a divorced spouse. I only get $1,200 a month. I made about $30,000 a year while he made six figures. I do not understand Social Security. I am barely getting by.

Answer: You got some bad information. Divorced spousal benefits, like spousal benefits for those who are still married, are based on the primary worker’s benefit at full retirement age. Spousal and divorced spousal benefits aren’t eligible for the delayed retirement credits that increase workers’ benefits when they delay applying for Social Security after full retirement age. In other words, you couldn’t benefit from your ex’s delayed start.

Like other retirement benefits, however, spousal and divorced spousal benefits are reduced if the applicant starts benefits before their own retirement age. If you applied at 65 and your full retirement age was 66, for example, you wouldn’t have qualified for the maximum divorced spousal benefit. Your own retirement benefit was reduced as well. If you’d been able to wait until after full retirement age to apply, your own benefit could have been increased by 8% for every year you waited until age 70.

It may seem odd that your benefit is still greater than what you could have received from his record, given the disparity in your incomes. But Social Security is designed to replace a bigger chunk of lower-paid workers’ incomes compared with higher-paid ones, on the assumption that lower-paid workers have a harder time saving for retirement. His income may have been four times larger than yours in recent years, but his Social Security benefit wouldn’t be four times bigger, or even twice as large.

What’s done is done, of course, but there may be a larger benefit in your future. If he dies before you do, then you would be eligible for a divorced spousal benefit, which would be 100% of his benefit (the one he’s getting when he dies, complete with delayed retirement credits and cost-of-living increases).

Q&A: Looking to Medicaid to pay for assisted living

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Dear Liz: I am going to sell my house, pay back my reverse mortgage, spend down and go on Medicaid in order to pay for assisted living that I need. What are some good resources I can contact to help me navigate all this? I have done a lot but am still needing more help.

Answer: Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor, typically doesn’t cover the room and board costs of assisted living, but many states offer Medicaid waivers that pay some assisted living expenses. Even if you qualify, though, there are typically a limited number of waivers available and you may be put on a wait list.

You definitely shouldn’t sell your home or spend down your resources before consulting with an expert. You can contact the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) for a referral to a lawyer who specializes in this complex area or use the American Council on Aging’s free locator tool to find a Medicaid planner.

Is your ex alive? It matters when calculating these Social Security benefits

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Dear Liz: You say that people can receive divorced survivor benefits while remarried but only if they married at 60 or later. I am 75 and getting married soon. I hoped to continue to receive my deceased ex-husband’s benefits. We were married for 30 years. When I finally connected with an actual live person in the Social Security office, I was told that is incorrect and I will lose his benefits.

Answer: Social Security rules for spousal and survivor benefits are complicated. Divorce adds another layer of complexity. It’s understandable that many people get confused, but you’d hope the Social Security reps could get this right.

Divorced spousal benefits — the benefits someone gets from an ex’s work record while the ex is still alive — are what end when someone remarries. If your ex is dead and you receive divorced survivor benefits, you can continue receiving those if you remarry at 60 or later.

Q&A: Eyeing a second divorce and the first ex’s Social Security

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Dear Liz: I was married for 12 years and have remarried. If I divorce again, am I eligible for my first husband’s Social Security?

Answer: People who were married for at least 10 years and who are currently unmarried may be eligible for divorced spousal benefits based on their ex’s work record. So if you divorce, you may be eligible for up to half of your first husband’s benefit at his full retirement age — assuming that this divorced spousal benefit is more than your own retirement benefit.

Applying before your own full retirement age means your divorced spousal benefit would be reduced. The benefit also would be subject to the earnings test, which reduces your benefit by $1 for every $2 you earn over a certain amount, which in 2024 is $22,320.

Q&A: An inheritance sounds great, but what will it mean for my free meds?

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Dear Liz: I live on Social Security alone, which puts me at the poverty level. The state pays for medical and dental premiums, so I have no copay for doctor visits or prescriptions. I was just notified that I was left $175,000. If this shows up in my bank account, I will lose all the medical benefits I’m receiving. My medications total $80,000 a year. I’d like to at least have some access to the funds to make some home repairs that I’ve needed for 20 years and to prepay my future funeral expenses.

Answer: Inheritances can wreak havoc with government benefits such as Medicaid (called Medi-Cal in California), which have strict income and asset limits. But you may have options to put the money in trust, says Jennifer Sawday, an estate planning attorney in Long Beach. Consult a special needs trust planning attorney for details.

Q&A: Old inherited IRA is safe from “drain it in 10 years” requirement

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Dear Liz: You have written that non-spouse beneficiaries are now required to drain their inherited IRAs within 10 years. Is this requirement retroactive?

I inherited an IRA from my mother in 2015. I have been taking out the minimum required each year. If I must drain the account within 10 years, will the increase in yearly income affect my Social Security benefits?

Answer: The 10-year requirement applies only to accounts inherited from people who died after Dec. 31, 2019.

IRA distributions don’t affect Social Security benefits, but could affect Medicare premiums if the withdrawal is large enough. Taxable income above certain limits triggers a Medicare surcharge known as an income-related monthly adjustment amount, or IRMAA.