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Benefits for Spouses, Widows Are Sometimes Controversial

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Benefits for Spouses, Widows Are Sometimes Controversial
People line up outside of the Social Security Administration office in San Francisco, Calif., on Feb. 2, 2005. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Tom Margenau
Updated:

I’m going to start today’s column by answering a question from a reader about her potential eligibility for benefits from one of her prior husbands’ Social Security accounts. I am going to follow that up with typical comments I always get from other readers who are critical of these kinds of benefits.

Q: I have worked most of my life, but I had severe medical problems and ended up going on Social Security disability when I was 58. I just turned 62, and I’ve been told that I can now file for benefits from my second husband. We are divorced, but we were married for over 25 years. He brags that he gets the maximum Social Security benefit. So, can I get half of his and my disability benefit at the same time? And FYI, my first husband died at the age of 35, and we were married for only eight years, so I am sure I’m not due anything on his record because that was so long ago.
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]
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