Social Security
Both my parents were teachers in Illinois. Mother’s first husband passed away and she remarried. Both husbands paid into social security. First husband couldn’t collect because of his teacher pension. Second husband did collect. Does my mother qualify for either husband’s social security? (Now that the law passed for teacher’s to collect pension and social security without the offset)
Terry Says
Yes — BUT. Big question: is she still married to her second husband?
If so, she is now entitled to half his full SS benefit — if it is larger than her own unreduced benefit. And if she is a widow, she is entitled to his FULL benefit (regardless of her teachers pension) when he dies — IF it is larger than her own unreduced SS benefit.
If she is a widow — which means she is not currently married — she might also be eligible to collect on her first husband’s unreduced but earned benefit from the time of his death, presuming she was married to him for 10 years. But it is unlikely that his benefit would be larger than her second husband’s benefit –just because of higher FICA contribution in more recent years.
