Synopsis
This document summarizes how to preserve seniors' rights to Social Security benefits until the day the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is gone.
“At the moment, because of DOMA, the marriages of same sex couples are erased for all federal purposes. In the Social Security context, this means that if you are married to someone of the same sex, you cannot claim any of the Social Security benefits that might be due a spouse – like spousal retirement and disability benefits, the death benefit, and the survivor benefit.”
This document, written prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June 2013 overturning Section 3 of DOMA, summarized how to preserve seniors’ rights to Social Security benefits.
