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Entitlement of a Surviving Divorced Wife or Husband

Excerpted from "Social Security Handbook". See the up-to-date, official Social Security Handbook at ssa.gov.

403. Entitlement of a Surviving Divorced Wife or Husband

403.1 When is a surviving divorced wife or husband entitled to benefits on the worker's Social Security record?

You are entitled to surviving divorced wife's or husband's insurance benefits on the deceased worker's Social Security record if:

  1. You are either (1) age 60 or over; or (2) at least age 50 but not age 60 and disabled (as defined in §515) and you meet the disability-related requirements in §513;

  2. The worker died fully insured (see §203.1);

  3. You are not married (see §406 for exceptions); and

  4. You meet the requirements in §401 (C) and (D).

403.2 Who is a surviving divorced wife or husband?

You are a surviving divorced wife or husband if you were married to the worker for at least 10 years just before the date the divorce became final. You meet this definition even if you were divorced within the 10-year period, provided you remarried the worker no later than the calendar year after the year of the divorce.

Last Revised: Sep. 1, 2009


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There are 19 Comments

Can you still work if you draw your ex spouses SS?

I beleive that if you are under the ageof 66 ( the age of social security maturity and entitlement), you can still work part time ( no. of hours???? ). If you are 66 or older it may be different. Good question. I'm going to check into it.

My husband died in May, 2002. Will I be getting his Benefits? We were divorced in 1988. Thank you very much.

father of my teenage niece & nephew past away when my niece was in the 2nd month of her 18th birthday and her senoir year of high school.Is she entitled to any benefits from her father?

Currently, I am paying social security benefits and hope to retire. My husband worked for the federal government and did not have social security benefits taken out. Currently, he won't have enough quarters to qualify for benefits. If I should predecease him, would he get a percentage of my benefits. Thanks.

For more information, ask for Government Pension Offset (Publication No. 05-10007), for government workers who may be eligible for Social Security benefits on the earnings record of a spouse.

can my mother draw my dad"s black lung they been divorced for years and she did not draw her social security off him

Black lung benefits should fall under disability benefits.
If you are divorced, but your marriage lasted 10 years or longer, you can receive benefits on your ex-spouse's record (even if he or she has remarried) if:

  • You are unmarried;
  • You are age 62 or older;
  • The benefit you are entitled to receive based on your own work is less than the benefit you would receive based on your ex-spouse's work; and
  • Your ex-spouse is entitled to Social Security retirement or disability benefits.

See here for details :
http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/divspouse.htm

I am currently receiving social security disabilty benifits "since April 2008.
I only receive188.00 dollars a month. My husband also gets social security disabilty and receives 1160.00 dollars a month.
We have a hard time living off this. Can I draw off my husbands benefits? We have been married 41 years. I am age 59 and my husband will be 60 years old in July 2008.

Please see this excerpt from the Disability Planner :

Benefits are payable to your spouse

  • age 62 or older, unless he or she collects a higher Social Security benefit based on his or her earnings record. The spouse benefit amount will be permanently reduced by a percentage based on the number of months up to his or her full retirement age.

  • at any age if he or she is caring for your child under age 16 or disabled and receiving Social Security benefits. Your spouse would receive these benefits until the child reaches age 16. At that time, the child's benefits continue, but your spouse's benefits stop unless he or she is old enough to receive retirement benefits (age 62 or older) or survivor benefits as a widow or widower (age 60).

If your spouse also worked under Social Security

If your spouse is eligible for retirement benefits on his or her own record, we will always pay that amount first. But if the spouse benefit that is payable on your record is a higher amount, he or she will get a combination of benefits that equals that higher amount.

It doesn't matter if your spouse starts getting benefits before, after, or at the same time you do--we will check both records to make sure that your spouse gets the higher amount whenever he or she becomes entitled to it.

My husband was married to the mother of his children for 3 yearsafter they were grade school age. I also have a child with him before his marriage to his first wife. We have been currently married for 8 1/2 years now. Who is entitled to receive his SS beneifts? The 1st or the 2nd wife?

Based on your statements, it is unlikely the first wife would qualify due to the short term of the marriage.

If you are divorced, your ex-spouse can receive benefits based on your record (even if you have remarried) if:

  • Your marriage lasted 10 years or longer;

  • Your ex-spouse is unmarried;
  • Your ex-spouse is age 62 or older;
  • The benefit that your ex-spouse is entitled to receive based on his or her own work is less than the benefit he or she would receive based on your work; and
  • You are entitled to Social Security retirement or disability benefits.

i need to know if i can still draw my late husband benefits let me know please almal1946@

You may be eligible for survivor benefits.

Widows may be able to receive full benefits at age 65 if born before January 1, 1940. (The age to receive full benefits is gradually increasing to age 67 for widows and widowers born January 2, 1940, or later.) Reduced widow or widower benefits can be received as early as age 60. If you're a widow and disabled, benefits can begin as early as age 50. For more information on widows, widowers and other survivors, visit http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ww&os2.htm.

I was married for 22 years and my wife filed for divorce in 1988, age 43. Final decree was 1992. Since 1988 I was single for 21 years and remaried. Who gets my survivors benefits?

If your divorced spouse dies, you can receive benefits as a widow/widower if the marriage lasted 10 years or longer and you are age 60 or older (or age 50 if you are disabled.)

Benefits paid to a surviving divorced spouse who is 60 or older (age 50 if disabled) will not affect the benefit rates for other survivors receiving benefits.

See here for details :
http://socialsecurityhop.com/en/pubs/survivors-benefits/02-what-you-need...
http://www.ssa.gov/ww&os2.htm

If you have been married to your husband for 9 mts.and he has ALS(Lou Garrets Disease) and he passes away can you draw widows benifits off him?

In general, I did not see a length of marriage requirement if you were married to your spouse (i.e., not divorced). If you were divorced, you must have been married at least 10 years to collect survivor benefits. I did not see a special provision for survivor benefits for victims of Lou Gehrig's disease. However, victims of Lou Gehrig's disease may qualify for Medicare before age 65.

In general, in order to receive survivors benefits, the deceased worker must have earned the required number of Social Security credits.

A widow or widower may be able to receive full benefits at age 65 if born before 1940. (The age to receive full benefits is gradually increasing to age 67 for widows and widowers born in 1940 or later.) Reduced widow or widower benefits can be received as early as age 60. If the surviving spouse is disabled, benefits can begin as early as age 50.


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