Social Security Benefits After Divorce

Divorce does have some effects on social security benefits. The basics are quite simple. If you are entitled to receive social security benefits based upon your own earnings record, you will, of course, be able to collect social security after divorce based on that earnings record. However, if you were married for ten or more years, you might be able to collect social security benefits under your spouse's record after you are divorce. There are a few qualifications that you must deal with.

The first issue to be addressed is the amount of time that you were married before the divorce. To collect social security benefits based upon your former spouse's earnings record, you must have been married for at least ten years. If you or your spouse are considering divorce, this ten year time limit might be an important issue. For example, if you have been married for just nine years, and if having this social security benefit after divorce will help you, you might want to negotiate a one year separation before the divorce. That way, you have preserved your ability to collect social security under your soon to be ex spouse's earnings record after the divorce. The one year separation could have some impact upon other rights that you need to address. So, it is a good idea to discuss this issue with your divorce attorney or with an accountant before finalizing a separation or divorce agreement.

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You cannot collect social security under an ex spouse's earnings record if you remarry. So, if you have carefully preserved this benefit after divorce, you might want to be very careful about remarrying. You can collect social security benefits under the next spouse's earnings record, but the same time rule will apply. That is, you must remain married to that individual for ten years before you can collect social security under their earnings record.

Social Security Benefits After Divorce

Many people simply want to know how much they will collect in social security benefits. The general rule when collecting benefits under someone else's earnings record is that you cannot collect more than fifty percent of that person's benefit. So, if your spouse or ex spouse is going to receive a monthly benefit of 00, you cannot collect more than 0 if you collect under their earnings record. You need to know what your own benefit will be to decide if you would be better off collecting under your own earnings record or under a spouse or former spouse's earnings record after divorce.

The rules that pertain to collecting social security after divorce are different than the rules that pertain to collecting social security after the death of a spouse to whom you are still married. THose rules should not be confused.

You can always check with the social security administration to find out what your social security rights and benefits are. The social security administration also maintains a website that you can interact with to figure out your rights and benefits.

Social Security Benefits After Divorce

Jean Mahserjian has practiced family law for close to two decades and is the author of many books devoted to helping consumers understand family law, including the issues of child custody and support. To download free excerpts from her family law books, visit: Divorce Help

How Are Social Security Benefits Calculated?

A popular question that I hear from baby boomers getting ready to retire is "how are my Social Security benefits calculated?" This is an important question because it could affect how long you need to work, whether you should continue to work during your retirement years, or other aspects of your retirement plan.

First, please note that you receive a Social Security benefit estimate each year in the mail, usually around your birth date. There are also several calculators available on the Social Security website to help you estimate how much your retirement benefits will be, so you don't need to know how to calculate the benefit yourself.

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It's still helpful to know how your benefit is calculated, however, so here are the basics:

Basically, your top 35 years of earnings are indexed for inflation, then averaged to determine the basis for your monthly benefit. If you worked less than 35 years, the missing years will be calculated as zero for purposes of determining your benefit amount.

Planning tip: If you have close to 35 years of earnings and you are close to retirement, you will benefit greatly by continuing to work until you have 35 full years of earnings to include in your benefit calculation. The majority of people this will affect are women who took time off work to raise a family.

The top 35 years of earnings are then divided by 35 to arrive at your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME). A formula is applied to your AIME to determine your primary insurance amount (PIA). We won't go into the specifics of the formula; the important thing to note is that your PIA is the full unreduced benefit you would receive if you retired at your full retirement age (age 66 for people born between 1943 and 1954). This amount will be reduced if you take early retirement or increased if you retire after age 66.

The PIA is also the basis for other benefits such as spousal benefits, so it's important to understand that your PIA is not necessarily the same amount that you will receive. If you are married and your spouse will be collecting benefits based on your earnings instead of her own, then you may want to maximize your own PIA to maximize the total Social Security benefits you and your spouse will receive.

How Are Social Security Benefits Calculated?

Learn how to get the maximum Social Security benefits you are entitled to at Your Guide to Social Security Retirement Income, a website created to help baby boomers learn everything they need to know to make the most out of their Social Security, including when to apply, how to coordinate spousal benefits, how to minimize the taxes they pay on Social Security and much more.

http://www.socialsecurityretirementincome.com.

Kristine McKinley is a Certified Financial Planner and CPA. She has a fee-only financial planning practice and specializes in helping people plan for a comfortable, worry-free retirement.

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Social Security Benefits: When Should You Apply

If you are considering applying for your Social Security retirement benefits, knowing when your first check will arrive will help you transition your budget. Knowing when to apply and when your first check will arrive will make your life and your budget less stressful. Here is what you need to know about applying for your Social Security retirement benefits.

If you are going to be retiring and starting your Social Security benefits, the earliest you can start receiving a check is age 62. If you are planning on applying at age 62, the earliest you can apply for benefits is three months prior to your 62nd birthday. You will need to call Social Security's toll-free number and schedule an appointment at this time. Three months is the typical processing time for Social Security to get its cogs going and start your payments.

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When will you receive your first check? Your first month of eligibility for Social Security at age 62 is the month after your birthday. If you turn 62 on August 15th for example, your first month of eligibility is September. Social Security benefits are paid one month behind, so you will receive your first payment for the month of September in October. This is useful information to help you prepare your budget.

To learn more about Social Security benefits and Medicare, visit the website "Social Security Laid Bare" using the links below.

Social Security Benefits: When Should You Apply

Jack Burton specializes in helping people understand Social Security programs for Retirement, Medicare, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Disability Benefits. The website Social Security Laid Bare presents information on all of Social Security’s programs in an easy to read format, without technical jargon. For more information visit Social Security Laid Bare: http://www.socialsecuritylaidbare.com

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