Social Security survivor benefits, same-sex couples

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ObliviousInvestor
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Social Security survivor benefits, same-sex couples

Post by ObliviousInvestor »

sscritic shared this with me via email today. It's super important information for the people affected.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/23/heal ... e-sex.html

“The Social Security Administration now allows gay men and lesbians to receive survivor’s benefits if they can show that they were in a committed relationship and would have married had that been possible. [...] A second group has also become eligible for survivor’s benefits: same-sex couples who were married for less than nine months, the legal threshold for survivor’s benefits, before one spouse died."

And here are the relevant pages on the SSA's site:
https://www.ssa.gov/thornton/
https://www.ssa.gov/ely/
Mike Piper | Roth is a name, not an acronym. If you type ROTH, you're just yelling about retirement accounts.
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quantAndHold
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Re: Social Security survivor benefits, same-sex couples

Post by quantAndHold »

Thank you, Mike. Fantastic news. I know people who have been waiting for this.
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retiredjg
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Re: Social Security survivor benefits, same-sex couples

Post by retiredjg »

This is good news, but I wish I could read the article. They have gotten pretty stingy with free reads. :happy

I'll try again in a day or two. Maybe the paywall will be gone then.
Fat Tails
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Re: Social Security survivor benefits, same-sex couples

Post by Fat Tails »

Thanks for the information!
“Doing well with money has little to do with how smart you are and a lot to do with how you behave.” - Morgan Housel
vested1
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Re: Social Security survivor benefits, same-sex couples

Post by vested1 »

retiredjg wrote: Mon Jan 24, 2022 7:35 pm This is good news, but I wish I could read the article. They have gotten pretty stingy with free reads. :happy

I'll try again in a day or two. Maybe the paywall will be gone then.
If you know someone who has a digital subscription they are allowed to gift 10 articles a month. Unfortunately I can't gift an article to an organization like BH, who could share it with readers.
kd2008
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Re: Social Security survivor benefits, same-sex couples

Post by kd2008 »

Just Google the text of the article title. The first result will be the link to the article. Long press on your phone or right click on laptop and then select open in incognito tab. Works like a charm.

The most important part is not the nyt article but the lambda legal document that details jargon to use when calling social security and documents to gather etc.

https://www.lambdalegal.org/sites/defau ... 479.11.pdf

Download the 7 page pdf. It is the most comprehensive info I have seen on the topic.
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retiredjg
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Re: Social Security survivor benefits, same-sex couples

Post by retiredjg »

retiredjg wrote: Mon Jan 24, 2022 7:35 pm This is good news, but I wish I could read the article. They have gotten pretty stingy with free reads. :happy

I'll try again in a day or two. Maybe the paywall will be gone then.
The miracle of patience....paywall gone this morning. :happy
donaldfair71
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Re: Social Security survivor benefits, same-sex couples

Post by donaldfair71 »

ObliviousInvestor wrote: Mon Jan 24, 2022 12:11 pm sscritic shared this with me via email today. It's super important information for the people affected.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/23/heal ... e-sex.html

“The Social Security Administration now allows gay men and lesbians to receive survivor’s benefits if they can show that they were in a committed relationship and would have married had that been possible. [...] A second group has also become eligible for survivor’s benefits: same-sex couples who were married for less than nine months, the legal threshold for survivor’s benefits, before one spouse died."

And here are the relevant pages on the SSA's site:
https://www.ssa.gov/thornton/
https://www.ssa.gov/ely/
Thanks for posting this.

To be clear, the 9 month buffer for spousal benefits was waived for same sex couples but not for hetero couples?
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ObliviousInvestor
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Re: Social Security survivor benefits, same-sex couples

Post by ObliviousInvestor »

donaldfair71 wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 8:21 am To be clear, the 9 month buffer for spousal benefits was waived for same sex couples but not for hetero couples?
The 9-month requirement is for survivor benefits, not spousal benefits. And it has not been waived for opposite-sex couples.

It is being waived for same-sex couples in cases in which a law prevented the couple for being married for at least 9 months.
Mike Piper | Roth is a name, not an acronym. If you type ROTH, you're just yelling about retirement accounts.
donaldfair71
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Re: Social Security survivor benefits, same-sex couples

Post by donaldfair71 »

ObliviousInvestor wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 8:26 am
donaldfair71 wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 8:21 am To be clear, the 9 month buffer for spousal benefits was waived for same sex couples but not for hetero couples?
The 9-month requirement is for survivor benefits, not spousal benefits. And it has not been waived for opposite-sex couples.

It is being waived for same-sex couples in cases in which a law prevented the couple for being married for at least 9 months.
Thanks, figured as much but just wanted to be sure because it would impact a person I know had it been waived for all couples.
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