Full question: I am English and live and work in Germany. I was married to a US citizen for 33 years. Will I be entitled to 50% if his social security when I retire at 67 ( 7 years from now) . I will receive a Small German Pension based on my mandatory contributions.

Hi there,

This is a good question about a complicated topic.

We are not sure if you are divorced or if your spouse has died, but in either case, you might be eligible for an ex-spousal or survivor benefit.

Your German pension should not affect either of these benefits. Foreign pensions are not considered as ‘government’ pensions for purposes of the Government Pension Offset, GPO, provision rule.

There may be other details we are not aware of that could affect your benefit.

If you would like to know the specific amount you should receive and the best time to claim, please email us at help@rssa.com for an analysis of your specific details.

Take care,
Martha

Schedule Appointment
Back to All