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military spouses

Q&A: A remarried military widow navigates Social Security survivor benefits

July 1, 2024 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: My wife of 15 years is now 58 and I am 62. She is a military widow who was married for 17 years before her previous husband’s death. I believe she is ineligible to collect on her deceased spouse’s Social Security record because she married me. Is that right? Instead, can she collect her much smaller benefit starting at 62? I plan on waiting to apply until age 70. Can she switch from her reduced amount to half of mine at 67?

Answer: You’re correct that your marriage would prevent your wife from getting survivor benefits based on a previous spouse’s earnings record. Only people who marry after they turn 60 can get survivor benefits from a deceased spouse while married to a live one. She also would be eligible for survivor benefits from her previous husband if your current marriage ends.

Survivor benefits can be claimed as early as age 60, or at 50 if the survivor is disabled, or at any age if the survivor cares for the deceased’s child who is under 16 or has a disability. Retirement and spousal benefits, meanwhile, can start as early as 62.

Such an early start, however, means accepting a substantial reduction in her checks. Her benefits also will be subject to the earnings test, which reduces benefits by $1 for every $2 earned over a certain amount, which in 2024 is $22,320. The earnings test disappears at full retirement age, which for her is 67.

Your wife can’t claim a spousal benefit until you file for your own benefit, but she’ll be able to switch from hers once you apply.

Since there are several complicating factors to this situation, consider using a paid service such as Maximize My Social Security or Social Security Solutions to investigate the best claiming strategy.

Filed Under: Q&A, Social Security Tagged With: military spouses, Social Security, Social Security survivor benefits, survivor benefits, taking Social Security early, widow, widow benefits

Monday’s need-to-know money news

April 13, 2015 By Liz Weston

Zemanta Related Posts ThumbnailToday’s top story: What to do with a financial windfall. Also in the news: How to financially survive a military deployment, what you should cut back on first if you lose your job, and how to protect your retirement nest egg.

How Not to Blow a Financial Windfall
The yacht can wait.

3 Things Military Wives And Husbands Can Do To Secure Their Finances
Surviving deployment financially.

The Budget Categories To Cut Back on First When You Lose a Job
What you need to immediately cut.

How Retirees Can Build a Portfolio for the Next 30 Years
Protecting the nest egg you worked so hard to create.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: budget tips, budgets, financial windfall, military spouses, Retirement, retirement nest eggs

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