Adding a Social Security and Medicare Safety Net Into Your Retirement Plan

SOCIAL SECURITY SPOUSAL BENEFITS

you are divorced, you may be able to receive benefits based on your ex-husband or wife’s work record – even if he or she has remarried – provided that the following factors apply: • Your marriage lasted for at least ten or more years. • You are age 62 or older. • You are unmarried. • Your ex-husband or ex-wife is entitled to receive Social Security benefits (although they do not have to be receiving those benefits yet), and • The Social Security retirement benefits you are entitled to receive based on your work record are a lesser amount than the benefits you would receive based on your ex-spouse’s record. Similar to Social Security spousal benefits, your benefit as a divorced spouse is equal to one-half of your ex-spouse’s guaranteed retirement income , provided that you begin receiving those benefits at your full retirement age, or FRA, (based on the year of your birth). The amount will be less if you start receiving benefits earlier than that time. Should you remarry, you typically will not be able to continue collecting Social Security benefits based on your ex-spouse’s work record – unless your later marriage also ends (either by death, divorce, or annulment).

If the spouse of a qualified Social Security recipient has never worked outside the home – and therefore, has not earned any Social Security work credits – he or she may still be eligible for income through Social Security spousal benefits. They can do so, provided that they are at least 62 and their spouse (or their former spouse) is currently receiving Social Security benefits or is eligible to receive Social Security retirement or disability income benefits. Like the worker’s Social Security retirement benefits, if a spouse begins receiving his or her benefits between age 62 and their full retirement age (based on the year of their birth), the benefit they receive will be permanently reduced. Suppose the spouse waits until their full retirement age to start receiving their Social Security spousal benefits? In that case, the benefit amount they receive will be equal to one-half of their worker spouse’s full benefit amount. By adequately coordinating when each spouse starts to take their benefits, married couples could significantly increase the overall amount received from Social Security. Ex-spouses may also be eligible for Social Security benefits based on their former husband or wife’s earnings. For instance, if

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