This is going to be another “hodgepodge” column. Instead of providing detailed answers to just one or two questions, I’m going to give just brief answers to as many questions as I can squeeze into the space allotted to me.
Q: I am going to be 62 in September and plan to take my Social Security then. When should I file for benefits?
A: The Social Security Administration processes most retirement claims in just a week or two. But just to be on the safe side, I’d suggest signing up for benefits in July. You can do it online or by calling 800-772-1213.
Q: My mother recently died. When we tried to get her death benefit, they said we weren’t eligible for it. Can you explain that?
A: You didn’t say, but my educated guess is that your father died sometime in the past and your mother was getting widow’s benefits on his record. Assuming that is the case, then no death benefits are payable. The law says a person must be “insured” — meaning he or she must have worked long enough to qualify for his or her own Social Security benefit — in order for survivors to get the death benefit. And even if your mom was insured, the law further says the death benefit can only be paid to a surviving spouse.
Q: Our family dynamic is the opposite of the norm. My wife worked all her life and I was the stay-at-home dad who took care of the kids. After they were grown and out of the house, I worked a little bit. But still, my wife has always been the major breadwinner. If my wife dies, will I get her Social Security?
A: Yes, assuming you are over age 60 and not working. Social Security is gender neutral. You will get the same spousal benefits normally paid to a woman — and that includes husband’s benefits, not just widower’s benefits. In other words, your wife doesn’t have to be dead before you can get any Social Security on your record. Once she retires and files for Social Security, you can get husband’s benefits on her record — to the extent that they exceed any retirement benefits you might have earned on your own Social Security account.
Q: I am 58 years old and divorced after a 25-year marriage. I have a 23-year-old daughter who has Down syndrome. Her father (my ex) is terminally ill and not expected to live much longer. When he passes, will our daughter be eligible for any of his Social Security?
A: Yes, she will qualify for what are known as “disabled adult child benefits” on his account. She will get an amount equal to 75 percent of his full Social Security rate. If you aren’t working and assuming you haven’t remarried, you would be due what are called “mother’s benefits” at the same 75 percent rate.
Q: I am 75. My husband is 82. He gets $2,100 per month and I get $950. If he dies, what will I get?
A: You will start getting $2,100 in widow’s benefits beginning with the month he dies.
Q: I have been married for 11 years to a wonderful man. He had a prior marriage that lasted 32 years. His ex-wife never remarried. When he dies, will his ex get a higher share of his Social Security than me because he was married to her much longer than he was married to me? We are both in our 70s.
A: No. Assuming you meet all of the eligibility requirements, both of you will get full widow’s benefits on his record. You do not offset one another.
Q: I am 60 years old. I am thinking of retiring. But I am worried about the impact this will have on my future Social Security benefits. Am I messing up my retirement benefits with my plans to stop working?
A: Your early retirement will have minimal impact on your Social Security benefit amount. Because the retirement benefit formula uses a 35-year base of inflation-indexed earnings, a few years of no earnings now won’t be that big a deal. You can go to www.socialsecurity.gov and use their retirement calculators to get a good idea of what your benefits will be with your age 60 retirement plans.
Q: In a recent column, you said a wife gets half of her husband’s Social Security. But I’m not getting half. I’m only getting about a third. Am I being cheated?
A: No, you are not being cheated. In that column, I said that a wife who waits until age 66 to claim benefits will get one half of her husband’s Social Security payment. But every single time I mention that 50 percent rate, I get hundreds of emails from women who glanced over the part about waiting until age 66. You must have started your Social Security at age 62, which is why you are getting the one-third rate.
Q: Do veterans get some kind of bonus added to their Social Security check by simply presenting their discharge papers at the time they file for benefits?
A: Not really. Depending on the time served, members of the military get extra earnings credits automatically added to their Social Security record. (No discharge papers are necessary.) But frankly, the extra credits are so insignificant they rarely have any impact on the amount of a Social Security benefit.
