Q: Ms. A from Mentone, Ala., writes: “I have been unable to find a better answer than “No” to a question I posed to a local office and an 800 phone number. I find this answer difficult to be true. Am I today, at age 73, able to revisit my ex-spouse’s (16 years of marriage) SS payments and draw on one- half of that? His one-half is now $200 a month more than my full amount, which I took at age 62. I was told then that my full amount was “about” the same of his one half amount. I was not told then that this decision was “locked in” for the rest of my life. Of course, when he dies I am eligible for his full amount. I have not remarried. Thanks for any help.”
A: We cannot respond accurately to your question without further information. We would need both your Social Security number and the Social Security number of your former spouse. Basically when someone with a spouse retires, we are required to review both earnings records and to pay the most advantageous benefit amount. Also at age 62, you would have received a reduced amount, not a full benefit. If you will contact your local Social Security office with the Social Security numbers, they can review your record to ensure that it is accurate.
Q: “My 4-year-old girl is autistic. Another parent at her day care told me that she might be eligible for disability benefits from Social Security. My husband and I both work full time and pay Social Security taxes. Could she really qualify?”
A: If you and your husband are both working, then probably not. The only way your daughter would qualify for Social Security now is as a dependent on your or your husband’s Social Security record. In other words, one of you would have to be getting Social Security retirement or disability benefits before she could be eligible. We do run another program that pays disability benefits for children. It’s called Supplemental Security Income (SSI). But it’s a program for people with limited income and resources. So if your family is having a hard time making ends meet, your daughter might qualify for a monthly SSI payment. And if she gets SSI, she might also get Medicaid coverage. Learn more by visiting www.socialsecurity.gov and selecting the “Supplemental Security Income” link.
Q: “I get both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. I recently was switched from a benefit based on my own earnings to a higher widow’s benefit on my husband’s work record. But then my SSI check was reduced. Why did you give me money with one hand and take it away with the other?”
A: SSI is a needs-based program. In other words, the amount of your SSI is based, in part, on your income and resources. So if your income goes up and your financial need decreases, your SSI payment also will decrease. When you started getting the higher widow’s benefit from Social Security, your other income went up, so your SSI payment had to go down. For more information, you can visit our Web page about SSI at www.socialsecurity.gov/ssi. Or you can call Social Security’s toll-free number at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) and ask for the publication, Supplemental Security Income.
Get answers to your Social Security questions each Thursday from the Social Security staff. Submit questions by writing to Business Editor John Vass Jr., Chattanooga Times Free Press, P.O. Box 1447, Chattanooga, TN 37401-1447, or by e-mailing him at jvass@timesfreepress.com.