Social Security matters can be complicated enough when just talking about married couples who earn dramatically difference incomes. When you throw divorce, additional marriages, survivors’ benefits, and/or adult child benefits into the mix, things can understandably get even more complex. Fortunately, our attorneys at Aiello Law Group can help set you straight by describing a bit about each unique situation below.
Social Security & Remarriage
If you receive Social Security benefits and you’re thinking of getting remarried, you may want to stop and take some time to assess the specifics of your circumstances so you don’t unintentionally lose benefits you depend on.
For surviving spouses/widows of deceased Social Security disability beneficiaries, remarriage before the age of 60, or 50 if you have a disability yourself, would likely mean the end of your benefits entirely.
If you are divorced and still receive benefits based on your former spouse’s income, you will definitely lose all entitlement to those benefits if you remarry.
If you receive benefits through a parent’s income based on your status as a disabled adult child, getting married will cease your SSDI benefits, unless you are marrying another disabled adult child, in which case both persons will retain their unique benefits in full.
Social Security Disability & Spousal Benefits
In order to receive spousal benefits, a person must be:
- 62 years of age or older (unless caring for a child under 16, or disabled person);
- Married to someone for at least one year who’s currently collecting retirement.
The actual amount of course will depend on your work history, your spouse’s benefits, and the start of your payments. There is no maximum, of course, for couples; but there is for families. Family caps depends on how much can be received from Social Security through a single earner’s record, including disability or worker’s retirement, and any spousal/children’s benefits. On average though, spousal benefits will often fall anywhere between 32.5%, all the way up to 50%, of their spouse’s primary insurance amount depending on the age of the claimant.
SSI & Marriage
When you get married, the old adage “what’s mine is yours” really kicks in, and things like employment salaries, SSDI payments, and other types of earnings become shared, or joint, assets. However, because of this, many new married couples often see their benefits wither away, and in some cases even disappear, because their greater combined income affects their eligibility. Remember, for 2021, couples are limited to receiving only $1,191, which means if individually you and your spouse earn maximum benefits ($794 each), you may want to seriously consider how marriage will impact your financial standing.
Marriage & “Duel Eligibility”
If you collect both SSDI and SSI, you are considered to have “duel eligibility,” which means getting married could impact you in a lot of ways. You may lose your SSI benefits entirely, yet see no changes to your SSDI benefits at all. You might have to deal with changes to your duel eligibility status for Medicare and Medicaid programs. It really just all depends.
Just remember, in any given situation, your best chance at receiving the full benefits you’re entitled to whenever you get married, divorced, remarried, or otherwise change your legal marital status in any way is to always trust our competent attorneys at Aiello Law Group! Call us, today, at 313.964.4900 or fill out the form in the sidebar or on our contact page, and learn more about how we can help you.
