Drawing retirement on ex-husbands social security

by Ellen
(Lafayette, IN)

I was married for twenty three years and was a stay at home mom, before I divorced and went back to school and started working.

Someone told me I can draw against my ex's S.S. rather than only my own earnings. Is this true?

How can I know how much I can expect to draw so I'll know when to retire?

Wendy Contact SS and make an appointment. Tell them you were married over ten years (the minimum) and you want to know what your estimated benefit is.

You will get the higher of:

1) your own benefit

2) 50% of his benefit (which does not affect what he is drawing)

Best Wishes!

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Womens' pensions.
by: Susan Whittenham

I note that this posting refers to the pensions situation for women in the USA; here in the UK things are a bit different.

When I got married, back in the early 1970's, married women who chose to work after marriage - it was still considered unusual back then! - had the option of paying a reduced National Insurance contribution ( the 'married womens' stamp') which meant that when they reached the state pensionable age 0f 60 as it was then, their state Old Age Pension would be based on the National Insurance contributions of their husband.

I chose the then unusual option of paying the full National Insurance rate so I would qualify for a full pension in my own right rather than have to be dependent on what my husband earned/contributed to the national pension 'pot'.

Why did I choose what was then considered slightly unusual for a woman, because then we were still expected to rely on our husband for the main income to the household?

Simple - I remember my Mum's financial struggle to get any money out of my father when she divorced him in 1963 and so was resolved to make sure I was always able to have my own reliable source of income when I would need it most.

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