The Benefits Blog

One of our Social Security seminar attendees says she’s been told that her own Social Security benefit amount (from her own work record) will be reduced by half because her husband gets a pension from CalSTRS (teacher pension) due to Government Pension Offset rules (GPO).  It doesn’t seem reasonable...

Will the wife of an incarcerated ex-husband be eligible for a spousal benefit on her ex-husband’s work history? Would it make a difference if they were not officially divorced?

 The wife of an incarcerated ex-husband may still be eligible for a spousal benefit on her ex-husband’s work record, provi...

A divorced client was married to her husband for 25 years. He is 25 years older and neither of them ever remarried. He passed recently and she would like to know if she can claim a “Survivor Benefit”.  She is now 62 and eligible for a benefit of her own of $1,916 at her FRA. 

Your client, who is 62...

I have a client inquiring about the Form SSA-2. Her question is below:   “I understand there’s a form SSA-2 about collecting on your divorced spouse, that my daughter keeps telling me about. When I applied for Social Security, I did have to put in my information about being married and being divorce...

I have a couple who married when the woman, Diana, was age 61.  She is age 64 and looking at retiring at the end of the year. Can she file for widow benefits since she married after age 61 or is the rule such that she needed to be receiving widow benefits before remarrying?

Remarriage after age 60 ...

My client, Beth, worked 20+ years in a Social Security-covered job but has spent the last 10 years with a non-profit affiliated with Ohio State University, with no Social Security withholding. The employer does not offer a pension plan and is not part of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. ...

Have a prospect whose wife has a green card. She is from Japan and has maintained her citizenship.  When he files for Soc Sec benefits, will she be eligible for a spousal benefit on his record?  I do not know if her green card, and maintaining her Japanese citizenship is an issue?

Citizenship is no...

I have a client who is 62 and thinking of retiring and taking Social Security.  Her husband is 74 and waited until 70 to collect his retirement benefits.  They want to maximize her SS when he passes away.

She has worked and earned enough credits to collect off her own record at 62.  If she goes ahe...

Here is the situation. Dad murdered his wife, and he went to jail and is now out. They have a 4-year-old and the court gave full custody not to the grandparents but to the Great Grandparents. Dad is disabled. Would the great grandparents be entitled to In Care benefits and the child entitled to bene...

I had a gentleman in a class yesterday with this scenario that I want to confirm with you. He is age 62 and will be 63 in Oct – Birthdate is 10/13/1960. He was married for 15 years and has been divorced 3 years. Neither ex-spouse is remarried. Ex-spouse birthday is 06/27/1973. They have four childre...