There’s always a way to turn a negative into a positive

YOUR RELATIONSHIPS COULD IMPACT YOUR RETIREMENT

According to the American Psychological Association divorce rates in the US could be as high as 50%. But what if you could turn that negative into a positive?

I stumbled across this gem on accident while researching another topic, but it might be some of the most valuable information I’ve found. I’ve already been able to help a few people boost their income with this knowledge.

THE SILVER LINING

Per the Social Security Administration: If you are divorced, but your marriage lasted 10 years or longer, you can receive benefits on your ex-spouse’s record. And, that’s even if they have remarried.

That means you get a portion of their Social Security earnings without impacting them one bit! And don’t be concerned; the ex-spouse isn’t notified, nor do they, or their current spouse, earn any less of their Social Security money in their lifetime.

WHAT’S THE CATCH?

There isn’t one.

Your ex-spouse doesn’t need to apply, or collect, SSA in order for you to receive this benefit. As long as you have been divorced for two years, and are of retirement age, currently 62, then you can receive your portion of the benefits. Waiting until full retirement age, currently 67 for those born 1960 or later, would allow you to get the maximum amount of 50% of your ex-spouses benefits.

Even if you already qualify for SSA on your own, your amount may be increased if your ex-spouse’s benefits are higher. This is really worth looking into, just to be sure you aren’t leaving money on the table, if you were previously married.

REQUIREMENTS

The requirements to receive your portion of your ex-spouse’s benefit per SSA are:

• You are unmarried;
• You are age 62 or older;
• Your ex-spouse is entitled to Social Security retirement or disability benefits; and
• The benefit you are entitled to receive based on your own work is less than the benefit you would receive based on
  your ex-spouse’s work.

If your SSA benefits are more than your ex-spouses then this won’t benefit you. If you’re on good enough terms; you could share this info with your ex-spouse, so they can benefit though. Doesn’t cost you anything to pay it forward. At the very least, earn a few brownie points for trying.

CAN I REMARRY?

Don’t let this stop you from remarrying. If you’re among the 67% that remarried, and subsequently divorced again, you can still collect benefits from your ex-spouse from your first marriage. If you are currently happily remarried, then you won’t be eligible for this specific benefit. We both know, you can’t put a price on love.

WHERE’S MY 100K?

So how did I get to this being a potential 100k windfall for you?

The amount one will earn from SSA varies wildly; based on factors such as when you begin collecting SSA, the earnings index during your working years, and how much you earned while employed. It isn’t super strait forward, but with a PhD in retirement engineering, you’ll see that it’s crystal clear, as… mud. You can estimate your retirement benefits here.

Average SSA benefit in 2018 are estimated to be around $1400 a month. With life expectancy in the US, in 2018, of around 79 years on average, per the CDC; that would expect one to collect this increased benefit for 12 years; if waiting to collect the maximum amount of 50% at age 67.

If you were previously ineligible to collect SSA, this could provide you with $700 a month on average; equal to $8400 a year. Not factoring for inflation increases to the benefit you’d receive; in those 12 years you’d earn $100,800!

CONCLUSION

There’s always a bright side; even when you don’t think there’s one. Keep looking. Ask yourself if you’re squeezing everything you can out of your resources. Information is power people! Be sure to maximize your knowledge, so you can maximize your life. A little knowledge could be worth a lot.

If you found this valuable be sure to share with someone you think could benefit from it. A brief act of kindness could have an impact that lasts a lifetime.

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This is not financial advice in any capacity, as no one contributing to this blog at EMK is a licensed financial advisor, attorney, or certified public accountant, and no portion of the blog content should be construed as financial, legal, or accounting advice. Please consult a licensed professional before making a financial decision.