Category: Benefits & Retirement
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Grandchildren who lived with a grandparent since before 18 and got at least half their support there can draw on that Social Security record if parents are disabled or dead
Social Security can pay benefits to a grandchild on a grandparent’s record, but only when three main conditions line up. The grandchild’s parents have to be disabled or dead, the grandchild has to have lived with the grandparent since before turning 18, and the grandparent has to have provided at least half of the grandchild’s…
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Social Security survivor benefits generally require at least nine months of marriage before the worker’s death
A widow or widower generally has to have been married to the worker for at least nine months before the death to collect Social Security survivor benefits. A shorter marriage does not always close the door, because federal rules carve out several exceptions. For anyone widowed after a brief marriage, which category the marriage falls…
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A spouse of any age caring for the worker’s child under 16 can collect Social Security on the worker’s record
A husband or wife of any age can collect Social Security on a worker’s record while caring for the worker’s child who is under 16. The age-62 rule that applies to most spouses does not apply in that case. The rule sits in the federal regulations, 20 CFR 404.330, which says a spouse qualifies either…
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Social Security’s deemed-filing rule makes anyone born after January 1, 1954 apply for their own and any spousal benefit together
Anyone born after January 1, 1954, meaning on or after January 2, 1954, who applies for either a Social Security retirement benefit or a spouse’s benefit is treated as applying for both. The rule is called deemed filing, and it applies at any age, so claiming early does not let a person take just one.…
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Social Security can generally fix a mistake in a worker’s earnings record only within 3 years, 3 months and 15 days after the year the earnings were received
A wrong number on a worker’s Social Security earnings record is easiest to fix in the first few years. After that, the Social Security Administration can correct it only in a short list of situations. The rule is a flat clock that starts when the calendar year of the earnings ends. The federal regulation says…
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SNAP shoppers in Colorado, Iowa, Tennessee and West Virginia can still buy soda and candy after a federal court vacated those states’ USDA waivers
Households on SNAP in Colorado, Iowa, Tennessee and West Virginia can still use their benefits on soda and candy, because a federal court vacated the waivers USDA had approved for those four states. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued the ruling on June 22, 2026, and the restrictions those states wanted cannot go forward.…
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Low-income surviving spouses of wartime veterans who have not remarried can draw a VA survivors pension of up to $11,699 a year at rates that run through November 30
A widow or widower of a wartime veteran can draw a VA Survivors Pension of up to $11,699 a year, as long as income is low and there has been no remarriage. That is the maximum annual rate for a surviving spouse with no dependents, and the actual check shrinks as the spouse’s countable income…
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Children under 18 of a retired worker can collect up to half of the parent’s full Social Security benefit, within a family maximum
A child under 18 can collect Social Security on a retired parent’s record, and the payment can reach up to half of what the parent is entitled to at full retirement age. The catch is a cap on the whole family. Once several relatives are drawing on the same worker’s record, Social Security trims the…
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An unmarried divorced spouse from a 10-year marriage can collect Social Security on an ex who has not filed, if divorced two years and both are 62 or older
A divorced person does not always have to wait for an ex-spouse to retire before collecting Social Security on that ex’s record. A divorced spouse who was married for 10 years, is unmarried now, and is 62 or older can be paid on an ex who has not filed, as long as the divorce has…
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Social Security lets a widow or widower start reduced survivor benefits at 60 and switch to their own retirement benefit as late as 70 if it is higher
A widow or widower does not have to wait until full retirement age to get Social Security money after a spouse dies. Survivor benefits can start as early as age 60, at a reduced amount. A surviving spouse can then switch to a higher retirement benefit on their own record as late as age 70,…