May
30
2013
By Guest (not verified)
I am a teacher who was married for 18 years and then got divorced. My ex-spouse paid into the social security retirement system but I have not paid into the social security system since before my marriage as I had a teacher's retirement. Am I still eligible to elect for benefits under my former spouse's social security benefit?
Ex-spouse Social Security benefits for teacher
As long as you didn't remarry, you pass the first hurdle for ex-spouse benefits since your marriage lasted more than 10 years.
In general, folks who qualify for government pensions and Social Security benefits face reduced Social Security benefits due to either the Government Pension Offset (GPO) or the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).
In your case, your ex-spouse benefit under Social Security may be reduced by the GPO.
See the following for more on this, including a GPO calculator :
http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1257
http://www.ssa.gov/gpo-wep/
http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/gpo-calc.htm