If you are getting a pension from your late husband, YES, you will lose it the moment you re-marry.
You can claim even if your ex has remarried. You can claim even if your ex hasn't retired and isn't receiving Social Security benefits (as long as your ex is at least 62 and you've been divorced at least 2 years). Claiming won't reduce your ex's Social Security benefits or their current spouse's benefits.
A general rule of thumb when it comes to splitting pensions in divorce is that a spouse will receive half of what was earned during the marriage.
Unless court ordered, remarriage of a former spouse will not stop the direct payment of retired pay as property.
Under the 20/20/20 rule, an unmarried former spouse will be treated exactly the same as the retired military member, or as a spouse of a deceased military retiree. Note: Only former spouses meeting the requirements of the 20/20/20 rule are awarded these full military benefits for the remainder of their unmarried lives.
The Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act: Allows state courts to divide disposable military retired pay between the service member and spouse. Allows former spouses to receive a portion of retired pay directly from the government in some circumstances.
If the spouses divorced, the marriage must have lasted 10 years. Each survivor benefit can be up to 100% of your benefit. The amount may be reduced if the women start benefits before their own full retirement age, but they don't have to share — the amount isn't reduced because you've had more than one spouse.
This is good news when former spouses are not on good terms. Your ex cannot “block” you from drawing your spousal benefit. In fact, he probably won't even know if you are drawing off him unless he calls SSA to ask.
The Bottom Line. If you were married to them for at least 10 years, you may be able to collect Social Security benefits based on your ex's work record. If you meet the requirements, you can receive benefits equal to as much as 50% of your ex's retirement benefit.
Have you heard about the Social Security $16,728 yearly bonus? There's really no “bonus” that retirees can collect. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a specific formula based on your lifetime earnings to determine your benefit amount.
Marriage has its perks
Social Security covers both spouses, regardless of whether one or both brought home a paycheck over the years.
To be eligible, you must have been married to your ex-spouse for 10 years or more. If you have since remarried, you can't collect benefits on your former spouse's record unless your later marriage ended by annulment, divorce, or death.
If you've worked and paid taxes into the Social Security system for at least 10 years and have earned a minimum of 40 work credits, you can collect your own benefits as early as age 62.
It's important to know that you can ask for a share of your spouse's retirement benefit in your divorce. Even if your divorce decree awards you a share of the retirement benefit, though, you might still not be able to receive it unless you take certain additional steps after your divorce.
If my ex-spouse remarries, will his/her share of the pension come back to me? a. Generally, no. As with other divided property, the ex-spouse's share of the pension remains his/her property.
If your spouse is found to have hidden assets, then it could result in them losing the right to all of those assets and even a possible jail sentence. Does it matter how long we were married? Most retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s are divided upon divorce regardless of how long the marriage lasted.
In a community property state like California, all assets acquired during the marriage are considered the property of both spouses. It doesn't matter who actually earned them. Thus, upon divorce, all marital assets (including retirement plan assets like a pension) should be split 50/50 between spouses.
you're eligible for some of your ex's Social Security
wives and widows. That means most divorced women collect their own Social Security while the ex is alive, but can apply for higher widow's rates when he dies.
Spousal Benefits for Retired Workers
A spouse who has never worked in paid jobs or has not worked to earn sufficient credits to be eligible for his/her own retired worker benefits can receive a spousal benefit that is 50 percent of the eligible worker's full benefit.
A new spouse becomes an eligible beneficiary on the first anniversary of marriage or the birth of a child of the marriage, if earlier. As an exception, a spouse divorced from a retiree who later remarries that retiree becomes an eligible beneficiary immediately upon remarriage if the member: Retired after Sept.
If the community property court order provides for a future benefit, you'll begin receiving a monthly allowance once your former spouse/domestic partner retires. You're called a "community property payee."
How much will a former spouse receive under the USFSPA? The maximum amount that can be paid under the USFSPA is 50 percent of the member's disposable income. DFAS will pay a former spouse the monthly amount or amounts awarded in the pertinent court order up to the 50% limit.