Big Change For Some Gays On Social Security Survivor Benefits

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A married couple has no problem with Social Security Survivors Benefits. That includes gay married couples. But since gays were not allowed to marry until recently, there exists a whole category of same-sex couples who could not marry and were never eligible for Survivors Benefits. That has changed, as seen in this nytimes.com article.

From the NYTimes:

The Social Security Administration now allows gay men and lesbians to receive survivor’s benefits if they can show that they were in a committed relationship and would have married had that been possible. The change could mean greater economic protection for a population with higher poverty rates than American adults overall.

"Starting at age 60 — or 50 for those who are disabled — a survivor can either apply for a deceased spouse’s Social Security benefits (if these are higher than the survivor’s, or if the survivor does not have the work history to qualify) or apply for them temporarily and delay claiming their own (allowing their benefit to increase until they reach full retirement age or beyond).

“The surviving spouses can end up with a lot more income,” said Trinh Phan, senior staff attorney at Justice in Aging. The average survivor’s benefit, the Social Security Administration reports, is $1,467 a month."

Also from the Times:

"How can survivors prove that they would have married, or married earlier, if they could have? They have to produce evidence like joint bank accounts, leases, mortgages, insurance policies or wills that name a partner as beneficiary or heir. “You shared a home,” Ms. Loewy said. “Or you had a commitment ceremony. Even photos and love letters. There are ways to demonstrate that you were in a committed relationship.”