Hello Larry: I am a 60 year old woman (DOB 7/17/1957), who is currently collecting Social Security Disability. I am also collecting benefits on my former employers long-term disability insurance policy. These private insurance benefits end when I am 65. During most of my previous employment, I worked for the government and therefore did not contribute to SS. Unfortunately, I became disabled before I was vested in the State pension system, so I have no pension benefits.

I am divorced and had been married 18 years. My former spouse, (DOB 12/21/1957). I think, will have a larger SS benefit because he at one point had a higher paying job than me. After reading most of your book "Get What's Yours" I think the correct thing to do would be to wait until my FRA and withdraw my retirement benefit and apply for my spousal benefit until I reach age 70.

However, I'm not sure I can survive these interim years financially. I've been saving as much as I can and have purchased an annuity along with having an IRA. However, the annuity benefit also increases in value the longer I can avoid taking income payments.

So, I have three questions:

1) What would happen if I were able to work part-time during the 65 - 70 years? Would this boost my meager benefit? Would my earnings be deducted from my spousal benefit?

2) When can I claim the spousal benefit? Do I have to wait until my former spouse reaches his FRA?

3) Can my former spouse also claim my spousal benefit while filing and suspending his own benefits?

4) Assuming I can survive the 5 years 65 -70 before drawing my own retirement benefits, is this the best strategy? By the way, I believe I will not live beyond 85, given all of my serious health issues.

Thank you so much!!!!!

Hi,

That's a lot more than 3 questions, but I'll try to answer them for you.

First off, you won't be able to withdraw your retirement benefits at full retirement age (FRA) and draw divorced spousal benefits instead. Social Security revised their rules at the end of 2014 in order to eliminate that strategy as an option for disabled workers (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/social-securitys-christmas-present-b...).

As a result, you could only qualify for divorced spousal benefits if your ex-spouse's full retirement age rate (PIA) is more than twice as much as your full disability rate (PIA). And, if you do qualify for divorced spousal benefits and you file for those benefits before FRA, your divorced spousal rate will be reduced for age. The earliest that you could qualify for divorced spousal benefits would be January 2020 unless your husband starts drawing disability benefits before then. Otherwise, both you and your ex must be at least age 62 for a full month in order for you to potentially qualify for divorced spousal benefits (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.03/handbook-0311.html).

You could earn any amount starting with the month you reach FRA (i.e. January 2024) without losing any of your benefits, but if you return to work before then and earn too much for an extended time it could cause your disability benefits (SSDI) to stop. People receiving SSDI are given a 9 month trial work period during which they can work and earn any amount without losing their benefits, but if they do substantial gainful work (SGA) after that their disability benefits are normally suspended and eventually terminated. The current monthly SGA level for 2018 is $1,180 (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10095.pdf).

If you become entitled to divorced spousal benefits before FRA and return to work, those benefits could potentially be subject to full or partial withholding in accordance with Social Security's earnings test (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking2.html).

I can't tell you whether or not returning to work would boost your benefit rate. Your SSDI rate, which will eventually convert to retirement benefits at FRA, is calculated based on an average of a variable number of your earnings years depending on your age at the time you became disabled. In order to increase your rate you would have to earn a higher amount in some subsequent year(s) than you did in one or more of the years currently being used to calculate your SSDI rate. But, if any zero earnings years are being used in the calculation of your SSDI rate then any additional earnings on which you pay Social Security taxes would likely cause your benefit rate to increase at least somewhat. However, if you qualify for divorced spousal benefits in addition to your SSDI/retirement benefits, then an increase in your SSDI/retirement rate may just reduce your divorced spousal benefits by roughly an equal amount.

Your former spouse could not suspend his benefits and draw divorced spousal benefits on your record instead. Nor could file just for divorced spousal benefits only while allowing his own benefit rate to grow. Congress eliminated that option in 2015 for people born after January 1 1954 (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/deemedfaq.html).

Best, Jerry