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By Karin Price Mueller | Posted on February 25, 2019 at 10:15 am
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If you are going through a divorce, you will have to solve many financial problems.
One of them is social security.
To qualify for benefits, you must have accumulated 40 work credits. It's the same as a 10-year work history.
If you have not accumulated enough credits, you may be able to claim benefits based on the background of your ex-spouse. And even if you have enough credits but your ex has a higher income than you, you may be able to claim a greater benefit based on your background.
Here is how it works.
The basic rule
If you are divorced but your marriage lasted 10 years or more, you may receive benefits from your ex-spouse's file if all of the following conditions are met:
- You are single;
- You are 62 years old or older
- Your ex-spouse is entitled to social security pension or disability benefits;
- The benefit you are entitled to receive based on your own work record is less than what you would have received based on your former spouse's work record.
This rule is valid even if your ex is remarried.
Take Jane as an example.
"Jane has been married for more than 10 years. She would then simply need to stay single after her divorce and wait until she turns 62 to have her ex-spouse become eligible for benefits on her own record, "said Michael Green, certified financial planner with Wechter Feldman Wealth Management in Parsippany.
What will my benefit be?
The exact numbers will depend on what your ex has earned.
The divorced spouse will receive a benefit equal to one half of the amount of the full pension benefit (FRA) of the ex-spouse as long as he has received benefits at his retirement age, said Jody D & D. Agostini, Certified Financial Planner. with AXA Advisors / The Falcon Financial Group in Morristown.
She said that if the highest support started to collect benefits before the retirement age, which, depending on your year of birth, would be between 65 and 67, the ex-wife would receive half of this amount, she said.
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But you must also consider your own benefits.
"If the benefit is greater than the spousal benefit, the highest payment will be made," she said. "If you qualify for both your own pension benefits and your divorced spouse's benefits, Social Security will pay the pension benefits first and you will receive an additional amount on your ex-spouse's file. as long as the combination is superior. "
Let's go back to Jane.
"If Jane's was receiving $ 1,500 at retirement age, her maximum spousal benefit would be $ 750," said Green.
If Jane receives $ 500 a month, she will receive an additional benefit of $ 250 for a spouse. So, in the end, that adds up to the highest amount.
What happens if you remarry?
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What happens if you remarry?
If you remarry, you can not collect allowances from your ex-spouse's record until your marriage ends, whether by death, divorce or annulment, Green said.
Back to Jane.
Let's say Jane was married to Jack for 15 years, but later she married Bill.
If Jane and Bill were to divorce after 10 years, Jane could be registered on the record of any of the former judges, Green said. She would receive the higher benefit of both.
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