The Benefits Blog

Can you clarify for me. 65 female is drawing survivor benefit from her deceased husband. She remarried after age 60 to a man that has non covered pension and when he retired he included survivor benefit for her on his pension. Will GPO apply to her current survivor benefit from deceased husband or h...

If a client starts the SS widow benefit before her FRA and continues to work, is the benefit reduced for earnings over the limit?

Yes, if a client begins receiving Social Security widow benefits before reaching her Full Retirement Age (FRA) and continues to work, her benefits are indeed subject to ...

What is the updated figure to earn a SS credit in 2024? 

I have a client who is going to be 65 in Jan. She’s divorced and no longer speaks to her ex. He’s an immigrant, but has worked long enough to get SS and is a little older.  He is already receiving his benefit. Let’s say his benefit is $1,000 per month and she’s entitled to 50%.  If she claims off ex...

One of our Social Security seminar attendees says she’s been told that her own Social Security benefit amount (from her own work record) will be reduced by half because her husband gets a pension from CalSTRS (teacher pension) due to Government Pension Offset rules (GPO).  It doesn’t seem reasonable...

Will the wife of an incarcerated ex-husband be eligible for a spousal benefit on her ex-husband’s work history? Would it make a difference if they were not officially divorced?

 The wife of an incarcerated ex-husband may still be eligible for a spousal benefit on her ex-husband’s work record, provi...

A divorced client was married to her husband for 25 years. He is 25 years older and neither of them ever remarried. He passed recently and she would like to know if she can claim a “Survivor Benefit”.  She is now 62 and eligible for a benefit of her own of $1,916 at her FRA. 

Your client, who is 62...

I have a client inquiring about the Form SSA-2. Her question is below:   “I understand there’s a form SSA-2 about collecting on your divorced spouse, that my daughter keeps telling me about. When I applied for Social Security, I did have to put in my information about being married and being divorce...

I have a couple who married when the woman, Diana, was age 61.  She is age 64 and looking at retiring at the end of the year. Can she file for widow benefits since she married after age 61 or is the rule such that she needed to be receiving widow benefits before remarrying?

Remarriage after age 60 ...

My client, Beth, worked 20+ years in a Social Security-covered job but has spent the last 10 years with a non-profit affiliated with Ohio State University, with no Social Security withholding. The employer does not offer a pension plan and is not part of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. ...