Social Security Question

npalen · Apr 7, 2017

I just recently learned that a spouse can claim 50% of their partners social security payments even if they have never paid any into the SS sytem. This apparently has no affect on the partners payments.
I'm just wondering how many of you are aware of this.

davrow · Apr 7, 2017

1/2 of mine is more than hers would be, so we went that way. No problems. :thumbsup:

mddorange · Apr 7, 2017

The little wife worked for Civil Service all the years I was in the military so she didn't pay into SS then. So yes, she took 50% of my SS when she retired. When I pass on, she gets all of my SS and sure needs it because the military SBP is such a ripoff.

I thought it was something that as I was retiring from the military, I had to get her to sign off for me not to have to take SBP. I took it any way so that is taken directly out of MY retirement and if I out live her, that money is gone forever.

turnkey4099 · Apr 7, 2017

mddorange said:
The little wife worked for Civil Service all the years I was in the military so she didn't pay into SS then. So yes, she took 50% of my SS when she retired. When I pass on, she gets all of my SS and sure needs it because the military SBP is such a ripoff.

I thought it was something that as I was retiring from the military, I had to get her to sign off for me not to have to take SBP. I took it any way so that is taken directly out of MY retirement and if I out live her, that money is gone forever.

SBP is Sruvivor's Benefit Psomething, probably payment and should not be availabe until the partner dies...or at least that is what it was.

It is news to me that Civil Servants don't pay into SS, I sure did for 21 years.

npalen · Apr 7, 2017

I should have had my wife sign up for 50% of SS when I signed up five years ago but we only learned of this spousal benefit a couple days ago. We signed her up at a local SS office and were not made aware of this provision. Do we have any recourse after five years to recover the lost revenue? It's worth a top of the line cabbed 50 HP tractor.

JerryK · Apr 7, 2017

They receive either the SS they earned in their working lifetime or 1/2 the SS of the highest of any lifetime spouses.... whatever is higer... not necessarily the person they are married to now. My wife received 1/2 of mine until she died two years ago.

mddorange · Apr 7, 2017

turnkey4099 said:
SBP is Sruvivor's Benefit Psomething, probably payment and should not be availabe until the partner dies...or at least that is what it was.

It is news to me that Civil Servants don't pay into SS, I sure did for 21 years.

Yes, SBP is that for my wife, unless she dies first.

Now, Civil Service does pay SS but when my wife worked for them they did NOT.

Travelover · Apr 7, 2017

JerryK said:
They receive either the SS they earned in their working lifetime or 1/2 the SS of the highest of any lifetime spouses.... whatever is higer... not necessarily the person they are married to now. My wife received 1/2 of mine until she died two years ago.

Not exactly true. If you remarry, you cannot claim half benefits of ex spouse. I guess you could divorce current spouse to become eligible to pick and choose which to claim spousal benefits on.

How Do Divorce and Remarriage Affect Social Security Benefits? | ElderLawAnswers

kthompson · Apr 7, 2017

There is some good info on the Social Security web site and for the government to find and understand to me.

For those not already aware most likely to be eligible for full payout at age 65.

fishheadbob · Apr 8, 2017

kthompson said:
There is some good info on the Social Security web site and for the government to find and understand to me.

28 years working for SS. Every comment above is almost correct but the nightmare is that what may be correct in situation A doesn't apply in situation B. The Social Security Act is 80 years of exceptions, contradictions, and government logic taken to an extreme. Don't plan your finances for the rest of your life solely on what you read on the internet or hear from some bozo at the bar. Start with the SS website and go from there. Good luck, you'll need it.

TheeKb · Apr 8, 2017

Gr8 thread! I'm handicap (spinal chord injury). B4 my injury I did not pay in for a few years when I started my own biz (post construction cleanup and exterior structure cleaning and restoration). I had not put in enuf credits b4 then apparently even tho I worked over 10 years in the service industry and banking. I'm unable to draw SS bc of this and unable to draw SSI bc of farmland I own do not want to put in other people's name. I've consulted 2 major law firms and one local to no avail. My wife and I will be married 10 years this May. She has worked for the state for more than that (collectively) and has paid in for for at least 16 years. Would I be able to claim hers?? Sorry to hijack OP. I just saw that others had answered ur question knowledgeably and thought I'd ask while they were here. Thx in advance for any assistance.

npalen · Apr 8, 2017

TheeKb said:
Gr8 thread! I'm handicap (spinal chord injury). B4 my injury I did not pay in for a few years when I started my own biz (post construction cleanup and exterior structure cleaning and restoration). I had not put in enuf credits b4 then apparently even tho I worked over 10 years in the service industry and banking. I'm unable to draw SS bc of this and unable to draw SSI bc of farmland I own do not want to put in other people's name. I've consulted 2 major law firms and one local to no avail. My wife and I will be married 10 years this May. She has worked for the state for more than that (collectively) and has paid in for for at least 16 years. Would I be able to claim hers?? Sorry to hijack OP. I just saw that others had answered ur question knowledgeably and thought I'd ask while they were here. Thx in advance for any assistance.

I don't feel like you are hijacking my thread. You're just as welcome here as everyone.

TheeKb · Apr 8, 2017

npalen said:
I don't feel like you are hijacking my thread. You're just as welcome here as everyone.

Thanks man,much appreciated.

Oldoak · Apr 8, 2017

fishheadbob said:
kthompson said:

There is some good info on the Social Security web site and for the government to find and understand to me.

28 years working for SS. Every comment above is almost correct but the nightmare is that what may be correct in situation A doesn't apply in situation B. The Social Security Act is 80 years of exceptions, contradictions, and government logic taken to an extreme. Don't plan your finances for the rest of your life solely on what you read on the internet or hear from some bozo at the bar. Start with the SS website and go from there. Good luck, you'll need it.

Click to expand...

:thumbsup:

Excellent advice! There is nothing posted on any internet blog site that should be taken as fact without further verification. Even people who mean well, are sometimes mistaken as already proven in this thread.

npalen · Apr 8, 2017

My frustration is that I did a lot of reading on the internet including the social security website and still didn't pick up on the spousal benefit. That was a very costly oversight.
I figured that by us waiting for my wife to claim her social security at age 70 in July of this year, we would maximize our benefits. Instead she could have been claiming half of mine for the last five years which figures about $70,000. And the irony is that 1/2 of mine will still be more than hers with maximum credits.

airbiscuit · Apr 8, 2017

It is difficult to glean understandable information off the Social Security Web site, or the Internet in general. It is important to choose wisely, because there is no undo button.

Check to see if you, your wife (or both) have at full retirement age (currently 66) before you apply.
Some of the loopholes were closed last year for those under 62.

Here is the best information I have found (it is excellent). Buy it, or get it from a library ..

mddorange · Apr 9, 2017

Airbiscuit is right about getting help from other than the SS people as they are just civil servants and a lot of what happens depends on how they were trained and are feeling that day.

My father was a tax layer and he used to joke about how little the people working at the IRS knew about their own regulations and how easy it was to win against them. In all the cases he tried, he NEVER lost and most of the times it never even got past him just showing them where they were wrong.

Travelover · Apr 9, 2017

npalen said:
........... And the irony is that 1/2 of mine will still be more than hers with maximum credits.

It is ironic. A really rich guy with a never working trophy wife can have her collect half of his benefit, which will be more than some single waitress who has worked her whole life. And if he has been divorced a couple of times, everyone of them can collect, too.