Here is the bottom-line message of this column: If there is any doubt or question in your mind about your eligibility for any Social Security benefit, insist on filing a claim for that benefit. You have every right to do…
I hear from readers all the time who tell me they talked to a Social Security Administration representative about their potential eligibility for a given benefit and were either bluntly told they weren’t eligible or were otherwise discouraged from filing a claim. So, the person making the inquiries is sent away empty-handed, but oftentimes still has lingering doubts about his or her possible entitlement to benefits. If you are ever in that situation, let me repeat: Insist on filing a claim.
A: You should march right back into that Social Security office and insist on filing a claim for widow’s benefits. The 10-year duration-of-marriage rule applies only to divorced spouses. You were married to your husband at the time he died, so that rule doesn’t apply to you. The SSA rep you talked to should have known that. If you get the same person again, ask to speak to a supervisor. But whatever you do, don’t leave the office until you file a claim for widow’s benefits.
A: Well, I don’t suppose it would help to call her back and tell her that the “clueless guy” worked for the Social Security Administration for 32 years and has written a nationally-syndicated column about Social Security for about 25 years. I don’t think it would impress her.
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