Gina (age 61) was married to John (age 78) for 11 years. They have been divorced for 6 years. They are not speaking to each other. How can Gina find out John's PIA in order to make some decisions on claiming options before she turns 62? Your Maximize My Social Security software would not be helpful without John's PIA, would it?
Hi. Unless there is a specific exception, Social Security is barred by the privacy act from releasing personal information from one person's record to someone else. However, there is an exception that allows Social Security to disclose a worker's primary insurance amount (PIA) to individuals who could be eligible for auxiliary benefits (e.g. spousal or divorced spousal benefits) from the worker's account.
It sounds like Gina in your example would be potentially eligible to apply for divorced spousal benefits when she's within roughly 3 months of the month she reaches age 62. Therefore, Social Security should be willing to release her ex-spouse's PIA to her at that time so that she can evaluate her filing options. Frankly, though, Social Security employees are afraid of violating the privacy act because they can be fined and/or fired for doing so. So, Gina will likely meet resistance when asking Social Security for her ex's PIA.
At a minimum, Gina will likely first need to prove to Social Security that she meets the requirements for divorced spousal benefits. A certified copy of her divorce decree showing her marriage date should suffice. If Social Security won't release John's PIA to Gina even after she proves her potential eligibility for divorced spousal benefits, I would suggest that she direct whomever she speaks with to section GN 03316.110 of Social Security's operations manual (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0203316110).
Our software ((https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) could calculate Gina's ex's PIA if she has access to a copy of his earnings history. Alternatively, Gina would need to be able to furnish at least an approximation of her ex's PIA in order to get the most accurate results from the software,
Best, Jerry
