Making a smart decision about your Social Security benefits requires thinking about your family situation. But if your spouse won't get survivors' benefits on your work record, it can make a huge impact on your decision-making process.
In the following video, Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool's director of investment planning, looks at one situation where spouses might not get survivors' benefits under Social Security. Dan notes that the Government Pension Offset provisions of Social Security force those public-sector workers who have other pensions and didn't themselves participate in the Social Security program to give up survivors' benefits. Essentially, the provision takes away benefits of up to two-thirds of what you receive from your other pension, which can make some spouses receive nothing after considering the offset. As a result, Dan concludes that those whose spouses might not qualify for benefits need to consider their own life expectancy much more closely in deciding when to take Social Security.
