Quote:
Originally Posted by Byte1
I disagree. A spouse's SS is based upon her earnings. My spouse received SS before I did because she is older. When I started receiving my SS, SSA asked me if I wanted my spouse to have her's computed on half of mine, which was a larger amount. Of course we said "yes." My wife receives more now than she did based on her own earnings.
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I think we are talking about two different things. I was replying to a poster who said that an ex-spouse had to share their spouse benefit with a current spouse. That is not true. If an ex-spouse was married to a SSN worker for at least 10 years, they qualify for the "spouse" benefit regardless of whether the worker is currently married, or if there are other ex-spouses. Anyone who qualifies for an SS benefit can receive the benefit without any sharing. If you qualify for a benefit based on your own earnings and also based on your spouse's earnings, you can opt to go with the higher of the two benefits.