Same-sex Marriage Couples Still Await for Clarity in Social Security Benefits

After a certain section in the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was repealed several weeks ago, the entire federal government is expected to comply with the said Supreme Court ruling. Meaning, each government agency is required to develop its policy to abide with the new law.

For Social Security benefits, in order to eligible for your spouse’s benefits, you have to prove that you are legally married to an eligible wage earner. 

Unfortunately, right from the start, the Social Security Administration (SSA) does not recognize same-sex marriage despite recognition in several states.

Subsequently, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Section 3 of DOMA, everything has changed. Since the day DOMA has been repealed, the SSA has been coordinating with the Justice Department to come up with rules on how to properly handle claims involving same-sex marriage couples.

While deciding for a new policy, the SSA already accepted benefit claims from same-sex marriage spouses but held the claims for a while until this new policy has arrived.

According to the new policy published by the SSA:

•    A retirement-age spouse can claim benefits provided that the couple was married in a state that acknowledges same-sex marriage and resides in a state that also recognizes same-sex marriage at the time of claiming.

•    A non-biological child of a same-sex marriage spouse can be eligible for child’s benefits provided that the state’s intestacy laws recognize the child as a potential heir.

•    For transgender claims, the agency follows state law on whether the marriage is valid following the gender alteration.

So far, that agency does not have a clear policy on the following types of claim:

•    Same-sex spouse’s survivor’s claim.

•    Younger than retirement age same-sex spouse’s claim for caring for an eligible child; domestic partnership.

Meanwhile, a Los Angeles permanent disability lawyer believes that coming up with a new policy requires sufficient time and comprehensive thinking. Therefore, it might probably take a few weeks or even months before the SSA arrived to a final resolution.

LA Judge: VA Can’t Deny Disability Benefits to Gay Marriage Spouse of Army Vets

Image gives credit to Carolyn Kaster / AP / Corbis.

A Los Angeles judge on Thursday has ruled that the Department of Veterans Affair (VA) cannot deny disability benefits to a lesbian Army veteran and her spouse in line with the recent Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

In a case heard by the U.S. District Judge, Consuelo Marshall, regarding a lesbian army veteran and her spouse, who were denied of disability benefits by the Department of Foreign Affairs (VA), she cited in her ruling that a federal code defining a spouse as a person of the opposite sex is unconstitutional “under rational basis scrutiny,” since the high court’s decision allowing legally married gay couples the right to health care benefits, the reports said.

"The court finds that the exclusion of spouses in same-sex marriages from veterans' benefits is not rationally related to the goal of gender equality," Marshall further noted in her ruling.

The army veteran, Tracey Cooper-Harris, who was suffering from multiple sclerosis, and her spouse, were seeking additional disability benefits due to all married veterans but the VA denied their application.

Cooper-Harris and her spouse Maggie Cooper-Harris got married in California during a brief period in 2008 when same-sex marriage was made legal in the state.

Accordingly, the couple’s Los Angeles long-term disability lawyer has claimed that they would receive about $150 more a month in disability payments. However, the Justice Department had asked for Cooper-Harris’ case to be dismissed on the grounds that claims involving veterans can only be heard by an administrative Board of Veterans’ Appeals. Nevertheless, Marshall assured that the case could still move forward.

Unfortunately for the couple, the current law on VA benefits specifically defines spouse and surviving spouse as someone of the opposite sex. Meaning, same-sex couples are barred from accessing such benefits as disability and pension payments.

Meanwhile, the VA secretary, Eric Shinseki assured that while the Congress has not yet took up a bill to change the current definition of spouse, the agency is open for any modifications and is prepared to welcome any policy updates.

Consequently, the Defense Department has once again affirmed that same-sex spouse of military members will be eligible for the same benefits that opposite-sex spouse military members receive starting on September 3, according to reports.

Snap Back to Basics – The Impact of Marriage on Social Security Benefits

In our recent blog posts, we discussed about the impact of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) repeal into the Social Security benefits. Now let us go back to basics. Today, we will talk about how marriage affects the social security disability benefits.

Technically, marriage may affect one’s social security disability benefits in various ways. Also, its impact usually depends on the type of benefits you receive such as the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).

Under SSI benefits, your eligibility is basically determined on your income and financial resources. Once you get married, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will estimate a portion of your spouse’s income to your record. Thereby, the agency will consider your spouse’s income to be your income as well. The same may eventually reduce your monthly payment or even prompt the agency to terminate your benefits altogether. In fact, even though you and your partner are not yet married but are living together, the agency may still decide to estimate some of your partner’s income to your record.

Meanwhile, under SSDI, marriage has no impact on your own earning’s record, no matter how much your future spouse earns.

On a related note, several Los Angeles social security disability lawyers have previously explained that if an individual collects SSDI based on someone else’s earning record, the benefit can only be affected in the following ways:

•    If you are collecting SSDI benefits under your eligible parent’s record and you get married, your benefit will be terminated. Your only option to keep the said benefit is to marry another disabled adult child.

•    If you are currently collecting SSDI benefits under your ex-spouse’s earning record, your benefit will be terminated if you remarry. The same policy also applies to individuals who collect SSDI under the earning record of a deceased spouse who remarry before age 50 if disabled and before age 60 if not disabled.

Consequently, one good piece of advice is to always consider consulting with an SSA representative to avoid compromising your benefits. If such instances can’t be avoided, be sure to choose the right one to marry so that you will not regret losing something really important in the long run.

How DOMA Repeal Would Affect Social Security Benefits

On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court has made a remarkable change in the Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The court has ruled last Wednesday that the said law barring the federal government from recognizing same sex marriage legitimized by the states is unconstitutional, which means that the act was only enacted as law either by a national legislature or by the legislature of a subordinate level of government like a state or a province. The court states that the federal statute is in violation of the Fifth Amendment. Thus, gay marriage would be legally recognized in the entire country.

DOMA was enacted into law on September 21, 1996 by the then U.S. President, Bill Clinton. The law legally allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages attested under the laws of other states, which also means that same-sex couples would be prevented from receiving numerous federal benefits available to opposite-sex couples. During the Obama administration, the Justice Department initially showed support for DOMA despite the administration’s desire to repeal the same. However, when the said agency found out that the law being unconstitutional, it has declined to defend it since then. According to last week’s ruling, “failure to defend the constitutionality of an Act of Congress based on a constitutional theory not yet established in judicial decisions" had "created a procedural dilemma."

Consequently, it would also mean significant changes in the Social Security system as same-sex marriage is now recognized. Within the next few months, couples residing in a state that recognizes same-sex marriage could be able to take advantage of the revised laws.

Unfortunately for those same-sex couples living in a state that do not acknowledge same-sex marriage, they may still find it difficult to fight for their spouse’s benefits since the Social Security Administration (SSA) generally uses the “place of domicile” as its basis for determining spousal benefits.

Meanwhile, for those same-sex couples living in states that acknowledge same-sex marriage, here is a brief summary of what you can expect from your social security benefits following the big changes:

- Any social security benefits that a spouse of an opposite-sex marriage would be entitled to will now be applied to same-sex spouses.

- If a same-sex spouse has been disabled, the other half can get up to 50 percent of the disabled spouse’s Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits each month.

- The eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits that is dependent on the income and resources of the disabled individual for an opposite-sex married couple will also apply to same-sex married couple.

Incidentally, the SSA has already eased the requirements for updating gender designation in favor of transgender people since last month, making the recent ruling as the second big victory for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) in a row.

However, although the new legislation has cleared the ambiguity as to how that agency will now handle same sex-marriage, it is still best to seek legal advice from a Los Angeles SSI lawyer due to some same-sex marriage acknowledgement issues varying in each state. He further noted that although same sex marriage is accepted in some states, it is still invalid in others.