How 4 people can get SS til death based on 1 person's social security wages.

[dkf]

"Here’s some good news about divorce, for a change. If your marriage lasted at least ten years, you can claim social security benefits on the entire earnings history of your ex-spouse.

Those derivative benefits are equal to one-half of your ex-spouse’s benefits. It’s an either-or situation – you’ll get your own benefits, or the derivative benefits, whichever is greater. And collecting derivative benefits doesn’t reduce what your ex-spouse receives, or, if he’s remarried, what his current spouse receives.

Now, here are answers to three of the tricky social security questions we are often asked by readers:

1. How many ex-wives can claim derivative benefits?
As many exes as there are, as long as each marriage lasted 10 years.  Mickey Rooney’s seven ex-wives got left out, since none of the marriages lasted more than 10 years, but three of Johnny Carson’s marriages lasted over 10 years.

2. If my ex-spouse dies, do my derivative social security benefits end?
This has a good news, bad news answer. The bad news: If he dies, the derivative benefit ends. The good news is that now you can collect survivor benefits, which are 100% of his benefits, not just 50%."

http://www.wife.org/social-security-and-divorce.htm

This means if an individual had 2 marriages lasting over 10 years and is currently married, the exes, the current spouse, and the former worker can all collect based on the one wage. When the worker is alive there may be three persons collecting 50% of the benefit and one person collecting 100% of the benefit. If the main worker passes, there can then be 3 persons collecting 100% of the benefit.

[SheilaT]

1. I'm well aware of this little bit in SS information.

If my ex dies before me, I'll be collecting off his benefit, not my own.

See, I stayed home for twenty-five years to raise our two children. Being out of the work force for so long definitely impacts what my own SS will be.

In reality, those collecting multiple benefits are a small percentage of those collecting. And there was a time when if an older couple married, the woman could no longer collect from her deceased husbands SS. Back in the day when many more women stayed home most of their adult life, that was a huge problem. I can recall reading in the 60's and 70's about older couples who simply lived together even though they'd much rather be legally married, because of what would be given up. And I think there was a time when there was no widow's benefit at all, once the male wage-earner died. No wonder elderly widows lived with grown children in the good old days.

[Bryn]

2. My friend collects her late husband's SS and

his ex wife is collecting his as well. Now two of them are collecting his SS. He was married to both of them for over 10 years. This doesn't make sense to me. His first wife divorced him against his will and now she's collecting his SS which pisses off his current widow who was married to him for 17 years when he died suddenly of heart attack. SS sure has a funny rule!

[SharonAnn]

6. And my husband and I both paid in and only one is collecting. After his

death, I can claim the higher one (only$50 a month difference) and the other one goes unclaimed.

So there's that, too.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

3. So? Who cares?

[Bluenorthwest]

4. Of course all of this applies only to Sanctified Straight couples.....

Interesting that those who get extra rights due to the extreme Sacramental nature of their 'God Made Unions' often exchange spouses for new ones. How does that work, Sanctity wise?
So one man, one woman, then the next woman, the one after that, the younger one to go with the richer you, then perhaps yet another, just 'cause they can....God is in the Mix!!!!!

The discriminatory nature of the law cheats millions out of that which others get in excess.......

[hobbit709]

5. I start getting my first check next month.

I filed last week to retire when I turned 62 this summer and the guy at SS said that since I'm a widower I can get $325/mo more on the surviving spouse benefits than what I would get on mine and it would start in May rather than waiting until August.
Well, I'm no fool. I said go for it.

[cyberswede]

7. Do you favor this?

[dkf]

10. I have two points of view on this...

From the POV of someone who is advising a friend, I would make sure they understood all the ins and outs of the system so they can get the most money from it.

From the POV of someone concerned about longevity of the system and that the outputs are related to inputs, its not good.

Frankly I've been made aware of a number of strategies designed to create better SS payouts. Part of me is appalled, part of me is fascinated. Overlaying this is the reality that the payouts might be reduced by 75% so collecting sooner may be a better bet.

[marybourg]

8. From the tone of the posts here on DU,

an ostensibly progressive forum, it looks to me as though we're seeing the opening salvo of a new right assault, this one on the hard-won equalization of men's and women's lifetime earning records.

[flamingdem]

9. Yes, this thread gins up envy, that's what the Republicans use

to divide us -- as well as HATRED OF WOMEN.

So effective these two -- envy and sexism

[obamanut2012]

11. Said it better than I could

+1

[flamingdem]

14. Thanks for the props

nt

[dkf]

13. This allows married men to leverage their benefits also, getting 150% from their contribution.

It's not available to those who have had only themselves to rely on their entire lives. Indeed if benefits are cut, you may have the married couple receiving in excess of their contributions while the person who needs to make it on their own receives less than their contribution.

It's documented that married social security recipients have a better return on investment from social security than singles.

[Lex]

12. Considering the massive tax breaks that corporations and churches get every year

then I have no problem with this.