I’m within the means of divorce. It’s been two years since I’ve filed. My husband makes extra money than I do. I’m disabled and might’t work. I hardly have an revenue coming in proper now!
I’m going to be 62 in 4 months. He’s 54. Would I be capable to get his Social Safety if I retire at 62?
-Legally Separated
Pricey Separated,
Unhealthy information first: Should you’re amassing Social Safety primarily based on a former partner’s earnings, your ex must be eligible for advantages. Which means if you happen to apply after your divorce is finalized, your soon-to-be-ex would both should be age 62 or on incapacity. Should you utilized for advantages on his report when you’re nonetheless married, he’d not solely should be eligible for advantages. He’d have to truly be taking them.
Now for the excellent news: Because you’re over age 60 and unable to work, qualifying for Social Safety incapacity insurance coverage (SSDI) advantages could also be simpler than you suppose. You could get extra money every month than you’d if you happen to took retirement advantages at 62.
A variety of older employees are tempted to start out Social Safety retirement checks early when a well being situation precludes them from holding a job. That’s comprehensible, as a result of getting authorized for incapacity generally is a lengthy and cumbersome course of. However beginning retirement advantages early as an alternative of making use of for incapacity is a mistake in lots of circumstances.
Social Safety weighs a number of things if you apply for incapacity, together with the kind of work you probably did beforehand and what job expertise you discovered. In case your incapacity prevents you from doing a job that’s much like your previous work, Social Safety considers your capacity to regulate to different varieties of work.
Social Safety wouldn’t deem you disabled solely primarily based on how outdated you might be. However by the point you’re 55, your age is taken into account a big issue that impacts your capacity to regulate to new varieties of work. The principles are much more favorable for individuals ages 60 and older. You’re about twice as prone to acquire SSDI if you happen to’re 60 or older than you might be at age 50, in line with the Heart on Price range and Coverage Priorities.
The massive benefit of taking SSDI over early Social Safety is that you simply received’t completely scale back your advantages. Incapacity checks primarily based on the quantity you’ve paid into Social Safety, as if you happen to’d already reached full retirement age. When you attain full retirement age — which is 67 if you happen to had been born in 1960 or later — you’ll mechanically convert to retirement advantages. Your fee most likely received’t change. After 24 months of SSDI, you’d additionally mechanically qualify for Medicare Components A and B.
Nonetheless, if you happen to took retirement advantages at age 62, your funds will likely be lowered by about 30%. While you take advantages primarily based on a partner’s or ex-spouse’s report, probably the most you’ll be able to obtain is 50% of their full retirement profit. Even when one partner earns extra, the opposite partner will usually get extra by claiming advantages primarily based on their very own work historical past.
To spice up your odds of success, seek the advice of with a Social Safety incapacity lawyer. Sometimes, they work on contingency, which suggests they don’t receives a commission except you win your declare. If that happens, their charges are normally capped on the lesser of $6,000, or 25% of your again pay.
If SSDI doesn’t appear possible, it’s important to barter for alimony as you finalize your divorce. Doing so might permit you to maintain out for an even bigger retirement profit.
Claiming Social Safety is kind of a everlasting resolution. Should you’re unable to work, it’s important that you simply attempt to get incapacity first earlier than you settle for decrease funds for the remainder of your life.
Robin Hartill is a licensed monetary planner and a senior author at The Nourishmoney. Ship your difficult cash inquiries to [email protected].