By Partner T. Sandberg Durst
Sandy Durst, Esq., is a partner with the Princeton firm of Lynch, Osborne, Gilmore & Durst, and LLC where he heads the Family Law Department. Individuals facing a divorce benefit from the combination of legal skill, common sense and compassion that Sandy brings to each and every matter. Each case is given the personalized attention it deserves.
Many divorces take place later in life. Often, one or both of the spouses may be considering retirement. Retirement has many implications in the context of a divorce. Alimony is one issue that may be greatly affected by retirement.
For parties, it is important to know what income may be available to pay alimony and met the needs of each party. Income may be available from pensions or other retirement funds, interest on investments, and Social Security.
The Social Security Act makes available certain benefits to workers, who have contributed to those benefits, upon their retirement or disability, but social security benefits are not limited to the employee. The Act also provides benefits for the worker’s family members and to the worker’s survivors should the worker die. One can begging receiving Social Security benefits at age 62 although the longer the worker waits to receive a benefit the greater the monthly payment will be. It is therefore a good idea to address what will constitute an accountable retirement age in divorce settlement negotiations.
A spouse, even if never employed, is entitled to Social Security benefits based on the working spouse’s benefits. But what happens if there is a divorce? Is the non-working former spouse still entitled to benefits as a result of his or her ex—spouse’s work record? The answer is “yes”.
Continue to part II of this article to learn more about the Social Security benefits available to a former spouse.
