How Divorce Affects Retirement Benefits

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Our elected leaders can retire with a golden parachute after having served as little as two years and they exempted themselves from mandatory participation in our lying President Obama's Health Care Plan. Also, multiple wives can draw 100% (three wives = 300% plus the husband's draw = 400%) of a spouses SS. This is effin nuts! How can you keep a system solvent with these ludicrous provisions? Vote all the bastards out and vote with the Tea Party to reclaim common sense in American politics.

Kenneth Slater of GA 2:30PM May 22, 2010

Back in the eighties there was an advisor that predicted this would/could happen. Ta Da! Want to do something. Get Congress to quit the B.S. Refuse to vote for a non qualified person, and tell your party why. Want to stimulate the economy? Allow people to put their charge card interest against their taxes like we did pre-Reagan. Want to bolster our economy? Tariff Chinese imports. We got into that mess courtesy of Bill Clinton. Here is the former governor of Arkansas,(Home of Wal-Mart) paving the road of unimpeded importation for a company (of which his wife was a legal team member) from a country which now has over two hundred stores within its borders. Think that NAFTA was about free trade from Mexico? Think again! That was the pork barrel manuever of all pork barrel manuevers. Don't be mad at him, he's from the school of "F-ck them till they wake up, if they dont wake up, f-ck em some more." Are you pissed off yet? If not, try this on. Obama has yet to prove American citizenship. Don't be surprised if at the end of his term there is an admission that he doesn't have one. Also don't be surprised if there's a rally by Schwartzenegger for President and who knows who else! We have ourselves to blame, we allowed folly, by rewarding foolishness and greed. We have passed on to our children a sorry reminder of our ineptitude. I'm not surpised; regretful, but not surprised.

Bulldog703 of IL 12:43PM May 22, 2010

it is very interesting that all the comments come from women who have either worked and/or stayed home while their "husbands" did their thing and have found out that they aren't entitled to much from SS after all those years. like the women above i lived with a "husband" and had 2 children i worked all of the 14 years we were together because without my income we would not have a roof over our heads nor food on the table because he had a problem adjusting to stress remembering his time at Vietnam every February of our married life it effected his job performance so much that he only worked a total of 6 years in the 14 years we were together. now i find out that i can't even collect on whatever SS he has because he contributed so little that i made more that him when i wasn't really making a great deal of money working two jobs to make ends meet let alone save anything. and to add insult to injury they want to raise the retirement age to 70 i was planning to retire then if my health holds out but i had the option to retire at 66 which was the adjusted age raise from 62 Does the goverment hope we all drop dead at work so they can only plan to pay us the measly $250 they give us at death Whose is getting all the money we have put into SS at $6000 a person each year adds up to a lot of money instead of cutting into those people who honestly worked how about going after those work take and have not contributed that 5% percent that takes 50% of the benefits

maria rose of NY 12:40PM May 22, 2010

I think it is crazy for each 10 wife can draw from the deceased ss benefits. Divorce means just that. My now boyfriend has 2 ex wives that will draw alot of money when he dies. This is crazy, no wonder ss is going broke.
I have a deceased ex, we were married 11 years. His first wife has not remarried and we can both draw the same amount from his ss.

Brooks Richards of TN 12:22PM May 22, 2010

the people making the rules live in their own little lives,they don't face the everyday of mommy what are we going to eat tonight, I'm hungry, my belly ,or or mommy my shoes are falling apart can I get another pair? No son mommy doesn't have the money.This is what I hear and I'm a grandma. It isn't fair I work all my life, get knocked in the head at work by a shop lifter and my working at any decent job is over,for me and my babies. These are my rambling thoughts anyway, but it isn't fair for the people of the UNITED STATES to have to live like this and there are more and more everyday,not just me .I still try to find work,but it is not at all easy at my age.
God Bless Us All

S,F of FL 10:23AM May 22, 2010

Twice married, first to a military person for 13 1/2 years of which 5 of those he didn't work most of the time (after getting out of the Army), second to a person for whom nothing was good enough and I was the one working 2-3 up to 5 jobs at any given time, while he "played" (for 10 1/2 years). I've been singular now for over 15 years and went back to school for a degree and am one of the really "lucky" ones to still have a job. My Mom and Dad (specifically Dad) only wanted to educate me until I got married so I'd stay home and have kids. For the record, I have worked, minus 6 weeks twice, my entire working life for many entities and have paid into SS, however, the working wage for women has always been below that of men, so my SS retirement benefit WILL BE LOWER, despite the many jobs I've held. I NEVER WILL MARRY AGAIN. Until Congress steps up and acknowledges that women are just as important to the workforce as men (maybe in some cases, more important), and agree to an across the board increase-in line with men's wage for those who come after us, there will be no retirement "age" for me, indeed, I've never even considered that I would retire, E-V-E-R! Besides, I'm still working so that my 91 year old father can accumulate SS money I'll never see. (Angry much, nooooo)!

Anna of GA 7:58AM May 22, 2010

To remove the Leeches! I have worked hard by my husbands side. Without me at home taking care of him and our children he would not have been where he is now. It was a chose that we made because when I worked we had to pay out so much in daycare that it was not worth it for me to work. My children are grown and I went back to work again so my husband could work in the field he has chosen so please don't tell me I don't deserve my husbands SS!!! I deserve alot more than that. I still take care of all the important things in our life's. If we didn't pay into SS I would be the one that would invest the money in a retirement account. My father worked for many years paid in SS and when he died my mother got his SS which was not enough to even keep her in the home they worked so hard for thru the years. Give us the money to put into something else something safe so then we don't have to listen to someone like you tell us wife's and mothers don't even deserve to be dependents when we (at least me) have worked are butts off to keep our family going. I have earned more than SS will ever pay my husband for what he paid in. You could say I am his employee!!!!!! Where is my retirement plan? And at 40 have you ever had anyone in your life that would stay? I doubt it but to each his own.. Just don't put down true wifes!!!!! I have been with my husband for over 30 years and I hope we both live along life so maybe one day we can retire and rest!!!!!

TB of LA 7:16AM May 22, 2010

If you were married to a working spouse, you should be entitled to his/her benefits after 10 years. In one way or another, you contributed as an executive assistant to your spouse to stay home to pick up all the pieces while they are working. That homemaker's net worth is approximately $138,000 to complete every day household duties and care for your children for what that matters.

AM of NJ 6:48AM May 22, 2010

Absolutely right on. One question. The government should pay back all I.O.U s with interest!!! I wonder how that works??? Wouldn't it be nice if our illustrious politicians (representatives of the people) could learn to live within their budget, live within the same retirement system, and live with the same laws and regulations they subject their constituents to. The air must be really sweet up there!!

Gerry of CA 6:42PM May 21, 2010

I'm 40 years old now and have contributed to social security since I was 16 years old. Not too long ago I broke up w/ a gal who was married to a guy for just over 10 years...she didn't work, yet will collect social security based on her previous marriage. Turns out she wasnt even a citizen of this country until recently. That's the whole problem with this country, the people who put in their blood, sweat, and tears are the ones who wind up getting screwed~mainly my generation. This needs to change. A person should have to put in a minimum contribution to receive any Social Security whatsoever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just being married to someone who works is a joke to me. They're already benefiting from the homemaker now being able to be claimed as a dependent!

Mr X of CA 6:40PM May 21, 2010