Divorce prior to taking SS?

[almost there]

A buddy asked if it would be profitable getting divorced prior to taking SS.
And have both parties claim their own full amount?
I would think filing as single would cancel out the $$$? (would pay more in taxes) Other than that, I did not really have an answer.

So I will throw the question out here..... Am sure the Gov. has all the angles covered. Just curious what they are.

[Dtail]

Well if one only has SS income without any other support, the tax rates favor singles over married folks.

[almost there]

Both have paid in over 35 yrs. Maxing out yearly on at least 50% of those years.
If that helps...

[Dtail]

That's only a piece of the equation.
It depends what types of other flows of income there is.

[almost there]

Figure in (2) 401k's the same size.
Nothing else, to keep it simple.

[MissMolly]

What's to stop them from claiming their own full amount while married?

[Exrook]

Quote:

Originally Posted by almost there A buddy asked if it would be profitable getting divorced prior to taking SS. And have both parties claim their own full amount? I would think filing as single would cancel out the $$$? (would pay more in taxes) Other than that, I did not really have an answer. So I will throw the question out here..... Am sure the Gov. has all the angles covered. Just curious what they are.

A spouse gets the greater of their own SS or half of their partner's, so not sure I understand how divorce would change that.

[aja8888]

Anyone contemplating divorce at an advanced age will have a lot more to worry about than a few SS dollars.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissMolly What's to stop them from claiming their own full amount while married?

Nothing.

And the survivor gets the higher of the two SS payments.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissMolly What's to stop them from claiming their own full amount while married?

That's what we do.

[almost there]

Thanks, didn't know that. Thought the lesser was reduced.

[joeea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by almost there A buddy asked if it would be profitable getting divorced prior to taking SS. And have both parties claim their own full amount?

What does divorce have to do with "claiming their own full amount"? Nothing, as far as I can tell.

I don't see the point.

[almost there]

A bit late. Looks like the question was answered. See above.

[ivinsfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by almost there A buddy asked if it would be profitable getting divorced prior to taking SS. And have both parties claim their own full amount? I would think filing as single would cancel out the $$$? (would pay more in taxes) Other than that, I did not really have an answer. So I will throw the question out here..... Am sure the Gov. has all the angles covered. Just curious what they are.

You mean divorce on paper?.....you're not going to get more SS money anyway..

[Brat]

A divorce will impact IRA withdrawal requirements for the survivor.

[CountryGal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brat A divorce will impact IRA withdrawal requirements for the survivor.

Survivor?

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CountryGal Survivor?

[Brat]

1. Spouses can take over an inherited IRA and treat it as their own
If you are the sole beneficiary of your spouse’s IRA, you can take over the account (also known as a spousal transfer or “assuming” the IRA), and the IRS will treat it as though it has been yours all along. You can do this by designating yourself as the owner of the existing account, rolling the assets from the deceased’s account into an existing IRA (either a Roth or traditional account, as long as it has the same tax treatment), or setting up a new account for this purpose.

2. Multiple beneficiaries must establish separate inherited IRA accounts
A bit more administrative legwork is required if you’re a non-spouse inheriting an IRA (solely or when it’s left to multiple people) or a spouse who is not the sole beneficiary. In all of these instances, the IRS doesn’t allow you to roll the money from an inherited IRA into one of your existing accounts. Instead, you’ll have to transfer your portion of the assets into a new IRA set up and formally named as an inherited IRA; for example, (Name of Deceased Owner) for the benefit of (Your Name). Be aware that no additional contributions are allowed in the new, inherited IRA account.

[Bestwifeever]

I have heard it can be advantageous to get divorced from your current spouse if your ex-spouse's benefits are higher than your current spouse's and more than you could collect on your own record:

Quote:

If you are divorced, but your marriage lasted 10 years or longer, you can receive benefits on your ex-spouse's record (even if they have remarried) if: You are unmarried; You are age 62 or older; Your ex-spouse is entitled to Social Security retirement or disability benefits; and The benefit you are entitled to receive based on your own work is less than the benefit you would receive based on your ex-spouse's work. Your benefit as a divorced spouse is equal to one-half of your ex-spouse's full retirement amount (or disability benefit) if you start receiving benefits at your full retirement age. The benefits do not include any delayed retirement credits your ex-spouse may receive. If you remarry, you generally cannot collect benefits on your former spouse's record unless your later marriage ends (whether by death, divorce, or annulment).

I think you can choose between which of the ex-spouses' records you want to file on.




https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/divspouse.html