His & Her Benefits: Getting Ex's Social Security
The Wall Street Journal, November 13th, 2009
Is it true that as a 64-year-old divorcee, who was married
for 13 years and hasn't remarried, I would be eligible to collect half
of my ex-husband's Social Security benefit? My ex-husband is 67 and has
been collecting full Social Security for more than a year. I have been
waiting to collect my full retirement benefit from Social Security
until age 66, rather than taking reduced benefits early.
If I could collect half of his benefit now, could I switch
to my own full benefit at 66? Then, could I switch again, to collect my
ex-husband's full benefit, if he dies before I do? Also, could I
collect his benefits retroactively?
S.A. Reagan
Houston
You don't have a choice between collecting your own benefit or your ex-spouse's until you reach your full retirement age.
If you are between age 62, which is the youngest age at which you
can collect reduced retirement benefits through Social Security, and
your full retirement age, which varies based on the year you were born,
your application for benefits generally will be based on your earnings
record, says Dorothy Clark, a spokeswoman for the Social Security
Administration in Baltimore. If the portion of your ex-spouse's benefit
to which you are entitled at the age you apply is greater than your
own, you could receive a benefit equal to that amount.
But if you wait until your full retirement age to file for Social
Security, you can restrict the scope of your application to your
ex-spouse's benefit only, and continue to accrue credits for delaying
your own retirement benefit up to age 70, Ms. Clark says.
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