Does anyone know if this is true? My dear friend, a stay-at -home mom,

[AzDar]

also, sadly, a supporter of the Wee Cowboy, and I were discussing the
alleged Social Security "crisis" yesterday...Anyhoo,she maintained firmly that she trusted * with "her" money (jeebus help us).Is it true that even though she's never had a job(even before or during college)that she'll be receiving S.S. at retirement age ?

[Mr_Spock]

1. Trust's * with money she's never contributed?

Some people should not be allowed to open their pie holes.

[RebelOne]

2. How can she receive Social Security if she has never

contributed to it through any employment? I seriously doubt she will receive one red cent.

[AzDar]

6. This is what I thought too...She said that when her hubby retires, she

will receive benefits as well. Doesn't sound right to me.

[brainshrub]

22. A surprising number of homeless women were once stay-at-home moms.

Then "hubby" gets a mid-life crisis and leaves for the perky 20-something.

[MountainLaurel]

33. Yep

It's one of the reasons why so many elderly women are now living in poverty. If this woman is lucky, she'll be getting a $300/mo check.

[TexasChick]

25. Nevermind. Misread AzDar's post. n/t

[Viva_La_Revolution]

35. now that could be true....but only when he dies....

to bad for her if he just leaves or divorces her...

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. not if she's never had a job...

you have to earn a min. (I don't know what the figure is) before you are eligible for full benefits.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Don't you have to work for a minimum of ten years?

[jmowreader]

44. They call it "40 quarters," but that is the requirement

I like the "quarters" thing--some people don't "work" full years; farmers and loggers come to mind immediately.

[flygal]

5. She will recieve benefits based on her husband's income

My mom receives half of my fathers even though they are divorced. If he dies, both my mom and his widow would receive ALL of his benefits. It's called double-dipping and it's true.

Now, I'm not sure if a married person pays more into SS than a single person. And I'm not sure how it would have been if my mom was still married to my dad - I guess he'd receive all his benefits since they would still be together.

[sam sarrha]

9. that is still pretty iffy, .... if Bu$h gets his way tho

[Divernan]

24. Your father's benefits are not split in half.

Just to clarify, if your Dad qualified for $1,000 a month payment, he receives that full amount, whether your Mom made a claim under his account or not. That is, He gets $1,000 and she gets $500. If she did NOT make a claim, or dies before he does while receiving the $500 a month under his account, his $1.000 will not increase or change. If he had TWO ex-wives eligible to claim, they would each receive $500 per month and he would still get the $1,000.

[liberal N proud]

7. If she has never paid in, she will never cash out!

[havocmom]

11. Wrong. See above post

My step mom worked in civil service eons ago and paid into that but not SS. She also got half of my dad's SS pension even though they had been divorced years before she retired.

[Demit]

8. Wouldn't she get survivor benefits as a widow (if she's still married?)

[RebelOne]

10. She will get her husband's social security benefits if he dies.

[mother earth]

12. She may be able to apply for benefits under her husband's SS

If she does not qualify, she could qualify under his SS, all of the rules for him would apply to her. I know someone who did this, they did not qualify for benefits, but did under an "ex" husband's SS they did.

[Atlas Mugged]

13. Is/was she married?

Then she will, but it'll be a paltry sum, regardless. She's pretty much expecting the world to take care of her, isn't she?

[politicat]

14. There are survivor benefits for women who were married.

It's kind of a scam for women who work, because if, under the current system, Mr. Pcat and I were married at SS age, we'd get only slightly more than he would or I would get alone. But if we divorced (and still lived together) we'd both get our individual benefits.

There's no minimum on time working in the system that I know of.

But no, it's not "her" money.

Pcat

[Divernan]

27. You should check this out; I believe you each can collect on your own

accounts and would not have to be divorced. What your choice will be is whether your benefits based solely on your lifetime earnings would be higher than making a spousal claim on your husband's soc. sec. account/earnings. If he made the maximum contributions and had the highest possible monthly payout, and your earning were sporadic and low paid, you could choose to collect on his account, rather than your own. In my case, I would get $300 a month MORE collecting on my own account, than as a spouse. But if my husband died, I would switch to the widow's claim and increase my monthly payment an additional several hundred dollars.

[politicat]

39. Thanks!

At this point, my payout is higher (because I started working at 15.5 and didn't stop until a couple of years ago to go freelance and have paid through the nose for my freelance work) but that will change if I don't go back to work for someone else in the next two to three years. (The advantages of being less than 30...)

We'll keep it in mind, assuming the BCF doesn't ruin it for us all.

Pcat

[tanyev]

15. "Wee Cowboy"

That's even better than Little Boots. :+

[elehhhhna]

41. Unless you know that Little Boots was Caligula's nickname...

[tanyev]

45. Did not know that.

Yes, that certainly adds new depth to the name. It would probably only be fully appreciated by a roomful of edumacated, librul history buffs.

[mattclearing]

16. Sounds like someone's in for a surprise.

Anyone dumb enough to believe that they will receive SS for nothing and who trusts Dubya just proves what we are up against.

We are attempting to persuade uneducated people on the presumption that they understand reality.

We need to start acknowledging that lack of education is a big factor in why people vote for the other side.

Educate the voters, and they will make the proper choices.

[WildClarySage]

17. She ought to be able to,

because the whole point to SS is a safety net for ALL citizens, and if there are those who are ineligible then it's not a real safety net for ALL. This costs us more in the long run. Even foolish people who think *'s plan is a good one deserve some stable income for retirement, and if it's not there, all of society pays more in the long run. I'm all in favor of men and women who want to stay at home to care for their children and that being a useful contribution to society worthy of a retirement income (though I'm not in favor of that being required, esp. of one gender.)

[Divernan]

18. If she was married for more than 10 years to a wage-earner.

I THINK it's 10 years - could be maybe 12. Anyway, if she had a husband who paid into social security for enough quarters of employment to qualify for benefits, and she was married to him for the necessary length of time, she can file a claim on his ss account. Hypothetically, some guy who married and divorced say 3 or 4 times, could have each of his ex-wive, plus any current wife, ALL claim on his account when he and they reach age 62. The payments are not divided among the claimants. All will receive the same amount as if only one were claiming.
Also, it will not reduce the ex's monthly benefit whether he has one ex spouse or three filing.

So ladies, if you're divorced and are approaching retirement age, talk to your social security office. Have documents proving date of marriage, date of divorce, and ex-spouse's social security number, and the Social Security office will run the numbers for you. If YOU worked and made your own contributions, you can choose whether to collect on your earnings or your ex's, depending on which will pay the most. You can switch from one to another. If you have TWO ex-spouses and were married to each for a long enough period of time, you can run the numbers on both and pick the higher paying account. Of course, if you remarry, you cannot collect on an ex's account.
A friend of mine retired at 62 and is collecting on her own earnings, but Soc. Sec. told her that when her ex retires, she can switch to his account and increase her payments by $200 a month. If he dies before she does, her payments will increase even more. If she remarries, she can collect only on her own account with Soc. Sec.

[AzDar]

26. Oh god, this is pretty much what she was babbling about..I mean I think it

is a very noble thing to stay home and raise the young'uns and all; I just assumed if you didn't pay in, you couldn't cash out. I REALLY don't like being wrong when arguing with a Shrubbie. That really chaps me.

[Blue Wally]

29. Why??

Would you rather be wrong?? Isn't it better that both you and this woman both know what the truth is so that you can discuss the truth and the advantages and disadvantages of it rather than argueing about a myth or a lie??

[AzDar]

38. Perhaps you've misunderstood... I apparently WAS wrong.. I don't like

it (who does?);like it even less when it's with a holier-than-thou-anyway Bushie.

[TahitiNut]

36. (ding ding) We have a near winner! (Yes, 10 years.)

Not only are her husband's monthly Social Security benefits increased because she's his dependent, she would receive survivor's benefits if she's widowed.

If two people are married for 10 or more years and then divorced, they have a potential claim to benefits based on the former spouse's eligibility. This exists above and beyond survivor's benefits. I have a former wife to whom I was married for 12 years. Under some circumstances (her own low/zero earnings and no other spouse), she might receive Social Security benefits based on my eligibility. All she has to do is provide my Social Security number (as found on tax returns) and dates of marriage and divorce. The Social Security Administration will calculate the most beneficial basis for eligibility.


One thing you said is wrong. Remarriage does NOT invalidate a claim based on a prior spouse's earnings. Consider a widow with her own earnings, remarried, and both the widow and her current husband are retired. She has THREE options: (1) benefits based on her own earnings, (2) benefits based on her deceased former husband's earnings, (3) dependent benefits that increase her current husband's benefits. Indeed, if she's again widowed, she can pick which former husband's benefits are better for her.

[FlaGranny]

46. Exactly right, and also the reason why

I know so many elderly couples living together without being married.

[Walt Starr]

19. Nope, only her husband

she gets not a damn dime.

[China_cat]

20. According to my yearly thing

that comes in the mail telling you what benefits you're eligible for, since 2002 after working from the time I was 16 (mumblety mumblety...40 year old son) I don't qualify for ANY benefits. No SSI, no disability, no Medicare.

I'll be one postal granny if I find out that somebody who never worked a day in her life is getting benefits without being a widow.

[IStriker]

31. You better go talk to the SS people right away IF you ever had a job...

and your employer deducted SS from your paycheck. Either you have worked somewhere all these years where you aren't covered (some cities, counties, railroads etc. opted out and have their own pension plan,) you have never earned anything but part-time wages, you have worked for yourself and not paid in, you haven't worked enough to have enough covered quarters, or there is a huge mistake. Take that thing they sent you and pay a visit in person to the office to see what the story is.

The wives of qualified recipients are covered and will receive a check based on their husband's earnings even though they have never worked.

[Divernan]

32. Only earnings subject to FICA deductions count toward SS.

But nearly all earnings do have FICA withholdings. Is it possible the Social Security analysis you received is saying that you don't qualify for any benefits YET, ie., because you haven't reached age 62?

[China_cat]

43. No, it says that I don't qualify for any benefits

EVER.

[Bunny]

21. She would be entitled to them under her husband's earnings.

My Mom was a stay-at-home Mom, and she qualified under Dad's social security when she turned 62. Now that Dad is dead, she gets a survivor's benefit, it amounts to less than half of their combined benefits when he was alive.

And I believe that everyone pays the same into Social Security: .0765% of gross wages, unless you are self-employed, in which case you pay 15% of your gross income into the fund.

But I'm no expert on this, by any means.

[wishlist]

23. Her wife's or widow's SS benefits though will be less under Bush's plan

Unless the the husband has lots of assets that she is guaranteed to be sharing in retirement, she ought to consider working to build up her own savings and economic security if Bush's less generous SS benefit formula is adopted into law since everyone's SS wil be less.

[theboss]

28. My grandmother gets SS off of my grandfather's benefits

It's something like 50 percent of what her received, but she gets them having only worked briefly in the 50s.

[Divernan]

30. STOP all this guesswork! Clearly lots of misinformation

floating around. We Dems are quick to ridicule the GOPers for having their heads in the sand and refusing to acknowledge the harsh realities foisted on the world by Bush. Well, DU-ers, given the upcoming life-threatening changes to social security Bush has in mind, AND given that each of us and our loved ones have a stake in the social security system,

CALL YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE OR LOOK THEM UP ON LINE AND START EDUCATING YOURSELVES!

For your individual accounts, as you approach retirement age, social security sends out your earnings/ss deduction history and projects what your payments would be if you retired at 62, or the later (variable) age.

If you have been married to anyone for more than the requisite number of years (it MAY be 10, or it could be a few more), and you have proof of marriage and divorce (dates) and your spouse's social security numbers, you can request info from social security on what options you have re claiming against their accounts and projections on what payments you would receive depending on which option you choose. I.e, if you retire at 62, or if you wait; if they retire at 62, or if they wait.

Don't be lazy - this is too important. EDUCATE YOURSELVES.

ON EDIT: ALSO, Bush may pull with the Social Security administration what he has done with the Veterans Administration. The story came out several years ago that VA
employees were not allowed to inform vets of benefits they were eligible for. If the veteran asked for a particular benefit, the VA would not deny it. The VA just would not let the vet know he/she was eligible for it. Therefore, do not assume every SS worker is going to tell you(or your elderly relatives) all your options.

[InternalDialogue]

37. Yes, check with your local SS office -- easy to find in the phone book

In a certification book I worked on for a local senior advisor organization, these were the simplified, general rules (sorry, no link -- they don't have an online version):

"As mentioned earlier, eligibility for Social Security benefits is based on employment and payment of taxes into the Social Security system. Social Security credits (formerly called quarters of coverage) are earned as workers pay taxes. Since 1978, credits have been based on annual earnings, with a maximum of four credits per year. In 2004, one credit is earned for each $900 in earnings, up to a maximum of four credits. In the future, the amount of earnings needed for a credit will increase as the average wage level increases. According to current SSA guidelines, a worker needs 40 credits to qualify for retirement benefits."

and:

"Dependents of retired or disabled workers are eligible for Social Security benefits based on the workers’ record. Dependents include spouses, divorced spouses, and eligible children.

"Although most employees are covered by Social Security, there are some exceptions. Employees who are not covered include:
• most federal government employees hired before 1984
• about 20 percent of state and local government employees, including some teachers
• railroad workers"

[FlaGranny]

47. Also check out

http://www.ssa.gov/ - they answer just about any question you might have.

[CornField]

34. My brother and I received SS checks after my father retired

We were both under the age of 18 when my father retired. In total, my father, my mother, my brother and I all received payments each month based on my father's SS account.

So, yes, a wife who has never worked (and minor children) can draw SS checks based on her husband's account. At least, this is the way it worked in the past. I'm unsure what the * plan will do to this.

[amazona]

40. has she been married 10 full years or 40 quarters...

...to a man who has been working 10 full years or 40 quarters?

Then, yes, she qualifies to receive Social Security when she is of retirement age.

What would you have us do? This woman has never worked and is perfectly useless as a young woman. She is not going to be able to support herself as a 68 year old widow. So there must be provision made in Social Security to take care of these women.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[Bunny]

42. Perfectly useless?

Are you saying that young, stay-at-home moms are perfectly useless? Help me out here...

[Bridget Burke]

48. Surely she has some plans for the future.....

Staying at home with preschoolers is one thing. But eventually the kids will all be in school. Money will be needed for their college funds. And quite a few mothers live for many years after they are "empty nesters." It's odd that this woman has NEVER worked--but she may have plans for the next part of her life.

And--not all marriages are perfect forever. What if Hubby finds someone else? Will child support be enough? Is she in a community property state or will she hope for alimony?

[gollygee]

51. I don't plan to go back to work when my daughter is in school

why do you assume all stay-at-home-parents would?

"The next part of her life" ? What do you mean by that? What next part?

Staying at home is a valid option. And working parents need emergency plans too - not just stay at home parents.

[FlaGranny]

49. YOU tell my daughter-in-law

she is useless because she is a stay-at-home mother. I'm not going to do it. She'll probably floor you with her Kung Fu. She has done an excellent job of raising nice kids. Whatever happened to motherhood being the most important job in the world?

[WildClarySage]

50. Perfectly useless?

You really believe someone's employment status can be considered a valid measurement of their worth?

[flordehinojos]

52. i believe not. she might receive a very small, tiny percentage of her

husband's social security--that is all--but whatever she receives, will come out of her husband's SS. To understand just how that works, you might have to call the SSA (social security administration) and ask them to explain it to you.

[buddhamama]

53. from my understanding

of how SS works, the answer is no. You have to pay into the system to receive SS benefits. She would be eligible to collect her husband's SS upon his death but, that's it i think.