I was a housewife but divorced my husband of 32 years; he remarried. I took my SS at 62 because I was having a hard time financially. Using his earnings only changed my benefits by $35 a month. Now I'm earning pretty good money , but I have increasing troubles with my health and am nearing 66 years old. I never got off of the early retirement at SS and have had to pay them back some of the money when my earnings were increased, which is okay. After they take out my Medicare, I only get $188 a month from SS and that amount is used up by my supplemental and Part D. What are my options for retirement? My savings will not go far. If I took SSI, how much could I still earn a month part time if I worked? Can't live on $188 a month. Is there a Social Security Minimum amount? What can I do?

Hi,

There is no minimum Social Security benefit rate. It sounds like you're now receiving your retirement benefits and an excess divorced spousal benefit, which is probably all that you are due. But, if part of your benefits are being withheld to recover an overpayment caused by your past earnings, your benefit rate should go back up to normal after the overpayment is recovered.

If your total monthly Social Security benefit rate before any withholding is less than $755 and you have no other income and your resources excluding your home and a car are less than $2000, you may qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) if you are at least age 65. If you earn more than $65 per month, it would likely cause your SSI payments to be reduced if you otherwise qualify. You might want to try using the SSI screening tool available through Social Security's website to see if you could qualify: https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/.

Best, Jerry