Ask Larry

I will be 62 in June 2017. I was married to a man for over ten years then divorced and now he is 69 yrs collecting his soc sec benefits. Later remarried a man 11 yrs younger who is now 51 and active duty. We were married over 10 years and we are divorced. After I turned 61 yrs I remarried an African man who has two children now my step-children. I am 29 yrs older than my current husband. I need to know what all I am entitled to with soc sec. Am I able to draw off of my of my first husband? Am I entitled to anything with my second husband? Am I able to get any money for my current step-children and my current husband or are my current step-children and husband entitled to anything? I want to take my early retirement when turning 62 and I am still working for now. I do not know my entitlements nor the best route to go.

Hi,

Since you are currently married, you can't get benefits on either of your ex-spouse's records, at least for as long as they are living. You can file for benefits on your own record at age 62, but they will be reduced by a little over 25% if you do. It's possible that your step-children and spouse could receive benefits on your record if you provide over one-half of your step-children's support. However, if you continue working, the Social Security earnings test could limit the benefits that you and your family could draw until you reach full retirement age (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking2.html).

Before you file, you may want to consider running the maximization software available on this website in order to explore your options.

Best, Jerry