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Am I Allowed To Apply For My Deceased Husband's SS If I Draw Retirement Money From The California Teacher's Retirement System?

Am I allowed to apply for my husband’s SS after his death if I draw retirement money from my California teachers retirement system

Hi. You can apply for widow's benefits as early as age 60, but if you're receiving a pension based on your earnings from a governmental agency (e.g. federal, state, local) that were exempt from Social Security taxes, then your widow's benefit would likely be offset by 2/3rds of your governmental pension (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf). So, it sounds like whether or not you'd be able to collect widow's benefits would depend on the relative amounts of your widow's rate and your teacher's pension.

Our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) is programmed to handle calculations involving the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision, so you may want to consider using the software to fully analyze the options available to you.

Best, Jerry

Category: 
Posted: 
Aug 10 2021 - 9:54am
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