You must take original documents of marriage and divorce (and not photo copies) before the SSA will tell you how much you can draw off your former spouses Social Security
I’m very blessed! My ex and I have been divorced 24 years. He remarried right away I’m still single (by choice) but he married an incredible woman. She’s always respected me and was a wonderful step mother to our two boys as they grew up. However, I’m the “ex” so I never ever bothered them at all after the divorce……why would I?!? If I called him today he’d pick up right away but if his SS isn’t affected why would I? I’ve got all the necessary documents so I’ll claim my Divorced Spouses Benefits myself……Sylvia you’re amazing!!! I learned about this from you. Thank you❤
Problem: They often refuse to give out that info until age 62, thus it may be time to retiree BEFORE you know the number, thus no retirement planning. Really this needs to be available years in advance because your options may be clear if you knew the number.
This is all gender neutral. In most cases, the man is the higher earner, but that is not always the case. A colleague of mine (pharmacist) was the high earner, and her ex-husband was the stay at home dad (worked part-time & low earner). He draws off his ex-wife's work record. He also got a percentage of her retirement. They were married over 20 years & their arrangement during marriage was she earned the money and he maintained the home and cared for their 2 children.
Because the government is bs. Fk social programs. It hurts the ppl paying in. This hurts the whole system . This is just another reason it's going broke
It's unlikely she'll draw off your record if you've been divorced for 46 years. Chances are she will do better drawing on her own. Spousal social security benefit (including ex spouse) is limited to 1/2 of the spouse's amount, and you can't draw on both. It doesn't have any effect on the primary beneficiary's amount anyway. It's just drawing based on their work record. The benefit is primarily to help stay-at-home moms from older generations who didn't work and raised families. Married from 20 until 55, then their husband traded in for a "newer model." What are they supposed to do, go back to school, then get a job, then get a 35-year work history & retire at 95?
