Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopeless
Hi JoMar,
As usual, you stated matters so very well. I do have ONE question. If a couple is married for more than 10 years and divorce. I will use Harry and Sally to keep things simple. Harry remarries and so does Sally to other people. Harry stays married to second wife but Sally divorces second husband after 8 years. She is currently un-married. Is Sally entitled to any of Harry's benefits? I was under the impression that Sally had to remain unmarried since leaving Harry in order to claim against Harry's benefits. Example, if Harry and Sally divorce and Harry remarries but Sally does NOT, she is entitled to claim under his work record if all other requirements are met. Harry could marry several times and each wife that stayed married to him for the required time frame would be eligible to claim against his work record as long as each of them did not remarry after leaving Harry.
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If Sally is unmarried at the time she files, she is potentially eligible on Harry's record. Sally could have four 10 year marriages by the time she turns age 62 and SSA would pay her the highest benefit as long as she is currently unmarried and what she would get as an ex-spouse is more than what she would get on her own record and she is earning under the annual earnings test amount.