Dear Larry,

My spouse of 9 years collects Social Security benefits on his deceased partner's income. There is a 35 year age difference between us. My spouse has a terminal illness but is doing good so far. However, I don't know what to expect when he passes. I am in my 40s. What should I expect in terms of payment when I reach retirement age? His deceased partner got the top benefit. I do not as I am as work for a government agency. Is there anything I should do now?

Thank you,

Paul

Hi Paul. Social Security could never pay you any of the benefits that your spouse collects from his deceased partner's Social Security account. The only type of monthly Social Security survivor benefits from your spouse for which you might qualify would be benefits based on your spouse's earnings history (i.e. widower benefits). Unless you have a child in your care who is eligible for benefits on your spouse's account, the earliest that you could potentially qualify for widower benefits is at age 60, or at age 50 if you're disabled (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0401.html).

How much you could expect to receive as a widower depends on your spouse's earnings history. But, if you're collecting a government pension that's based on your earnings that were exempt from Social Security taxes, then any survivor benefits for which you'd otherwise qualify would likely be offset by 2/3rds of the amount of your government pension (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf). And, that could reduce your survivor benefit rate to zero depending on the comparative amounts of your Social Security survivor benefit and the government pension.

Regardless of your age when your spouse dies, though, you may qualify a one-time death benefit of $255 (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0430.html). You would need to apply for that benefit when the time comes.

Best, Jerry