How marriage equality is tied to your gay retirement
What do marriage equality and your gay retirement have to do with one another? Find out here on this episode. Then download your FREE Queer Money Kickstarter, a 9-step Guide to Kickstart Your Journey to Financial Independence.
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Why marriage equality matters
On this Queer Money®, we discuss marriage equality and tackle the ever-so-romantic question: Should you marry your BFF as part of your retirement plan? Spoiler alert—it might be worth the paperwork.
The first challenge is social security and the benefits of spousal and survivor. What Are Spousal Benefits? Benefits of being married to a worker entitled to Social Security benefits. Married for a minimum of 12 months to access these benefits. Minimum age requirement: 62 or younger if caring for a child under 16 or a disabled child of the spouse claiming benefits. How Much Can You Get? You can get up to 50% of the worker’s primary insurance amount. Reminder: Benefits are reduced if claimed before the retirement age. You get half of that reduced amount. Spousal Benefits vs. Your Benefits: Decide which is better to claim. What are survivor benefits? Who Qualifies? Those who were married for a minimum of 9 months, widows, widowers, and certain divorced spouses who were married for 10+ years. Age requirements: starting at 62 (or 50 if disabled) or younger if caring for a disabled child of the spouse for who you are claiming the benefits. How much can survivors receive? You can get up to 100% of the deceased worker’s benefits. However, there could be reductions for early claiming. Make sure you talk with an accountant. In special cases with remarriage, there is no impact if remarried after age 60 (or 50 if disabled).
Inherited IRAs. What are they, and what accounts are they applied to? Beneficiary on any tax-deferred account: IRA, Roth, 401k, 403b, 457. Why it’s beneficial for married couples? Tax benefit of transfers. You can take distributions at your rate rather than your spouse’s. If you are married, you get a huge tax benefit if your spouse passes away. If you are not married but a beneficiary, the Secure Act 2.0 changes that non-spousal beneficiaries must withdraw all funds within 10 years. It must be distributed every year if the owner has begun RMDs. Get married while you can, even if it’s just on paper. It may be worth partnering up with a non-romantic partner to get married to protect some of your assets and keep them in the community. Watch to see what happens with SCOTUS. Get a prenup before you sign on the dotted line so that you can protect both of your assets in a nonromantic relationship.
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