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Your Right to File a Claim

Whenever you think you might be due any kind of Social Security benefit, insist on filing a claim for that benefit.
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Your Right to File a Claim
Filing for social security isn't always a simple task. Tada Images/Shutterstock
Tom Margenau
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If you think you are eligible for Social Security benefits, you have every right to file a claim for those benefits. This is a message I’ve delivered before in this column. But recent emails tell me it’s time to send the message again. Here are several of those emails.

Q: Even though my husband and I lived together for 20 years, we didn’t actually get married until two years ago. Sadly, he died last month. When I contacted Social Security to file for widow’s benefits, the clerk told me we had to be married at least 10 years, so she said I wasn’t due anything. Is there anything else I can do?

Tom Margenau
Tom Margenau
Author
Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSA’s public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” If you have a Social Security question, contact him at [email protected]