Ask Larry

Can I Receive My First Husband's Social Security?

My first husband went back to brazil and passed there.
Can i receive his social security here.
Although i remarried im divorced from my second. Im 74 now and receive very little because my first husband would not let me work.

Hi. The fact that you remarried and divorced wouldn't prevent you from qualifying for benefits on the record of your first spouse. But, in order for you to qualify for survivor benefits from his account he would need to have met the insured status requirement for U.S. Social Security benefits. And, his benefit rate would have to be higher than your own benefit rate, since you could only draw the higher of his benefit rate or your own benefit rate, not both.

I would suggest that you contact Social Security to see if you qualify for any survivor benefits. Even if they tell you that you don't, you can still insist on filing an application in order to receive a formal determination of your eligibility.

Best, Jerry

Posted: 
Feb 25 2021 - 3:16pm
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