Can I claim SS after divorce and giving up GC?
 

I was a Permanent Resident for a dozen years or so. Husband and I both British, but my Ex naturalized and still lives in US. I gave up my GC, returned to UK and divorced him.

He is still working but recently started drawing his SS pension. I myself do not have sufficient contributions but read somewhere that I might be able to get some SS, albeit reduced by at least 50%, based on his contributions. Anyone has any experience or knowledge they can share?

Also, I get state pensions from the UK and from another European country. Would this reduce any SS I might receive due to windfall elimination? If so how can I find out by how much?

Lastly, if I were to get US SS, by how would this affect my tax status? Would I have to start filing US taxes again? If yes, would I have to report my worldwide income?

Thanks to anyone who can help me as I find all this rather confusing!

Re: Can I claim SS after divorce and giving up GC?
 

Perhaps a look at the social security administration's website would give you the answer(s) you have asked. A divorced spouse whose marriage had endured for 7 years can make a claim against their ex-spouses social security benefit.

How does the green card enter into this? I have no idea.

I would assume WEP might well play a part in your amount of benefit. Although, ironically, if my husband dies before me and I get 1/2 of his Old Age Benefits from Canadian SS, WEP is not used. I will get the full amount.

Re: Can I claim SS after divorce and giving up GC?
 

Here are two sites for you to browse.

https://www.ssa.gov/

To chat online:
https://www.justanswer.com/sip/socia...BoCXBUQAvD_BwE

Re: Can I claim SS after divorce and giving up GC?
 

This is also a good resource

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10127.pdf

You need to have been married for 10 years or more:

If your ex-spouse is living If you’re divorced and meet all of the following requirements, you can receive benefits based on your ex-spouse’s work if: • Your marriage lasted 10 years or longer. • You’re unmarried. • You’re age 62 or older. • The benefit you’re entitled to receive based on your own work is less than the benefits you’d receive based on your spouse’s work. • Your ex-spouse is entitled to Social Security retirement or disability benefits

Re: Can I claim SS after divorce and giving up GC?
 

WEP is normally applied to the main beneficiary, not to the spouse's amount. If your ex husband is subject to WEP your pension should be based on the amount he receives after WEP has been applied. There is no further WEP deduction applied directly to your amount.

Re: Can I claim SS after divorce and giving up GC?
 

Thank you. I'll check out those links.

What about taxes though - how would my getting SS affect my tax status? Would I have to start filing US taxes again? If yes, would I have to report my worldwide income?

Re: Can I claim SS after divorce and giving up GC?
 

If you are not otherwise required to file taxes in the US claiming SS does not affect that. Any tax due on it would be paid in the UK.

Re: Can I claim SS after divorce and giving up GC?
 

Tell me. I was able to take advantage of the (no longer available) process of deferring my SS until age 70 and between ages 66 and 70 take spousal benefit. My wife’s WEP was applied to my spousal benefit. Upon hitting 70 and going over to full benefit on my account my payment went up by a factor of ten. My wife is older than me and upon reaching age 65 she continued to work for the county but drew full full SS on her account withOUT any WEP. Upon her retirement, WEP was then cranked in.

Fun and games.

Re: Can I claim SS after divorce and giving up GC?
 

My wife will start claiming SS end of next year and will get hit with a big WEP reduction. I am holding off until age 70 in 2025 and will have 28 years SS contributions so should not be hit too badly. With no WEP involved my wife's SS would normally be boosted up to match half of my SS but since she will have a reduced SS due to her own WEP I'm not sure how much of a boost she will get. When I die she will start getting my full SS instead of her own, at least that is what I understand the rules to be.

Re: Can I claim SS after divorce and giving up GC?
 

Yes I understand I will get 100% of Mrs L's. But the figure they quoted me did not include the WEP which is deducted from her SS now.

Re: Can I claim SS after divorce and giving up GC?
 

Excellent - thanks for that info.