WHAT EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY

	Women depend on Social Security even more than men do: On average,
women live longer, and they are less likely to have pensions. Yet, women
don't always have all the knowledge they need about Social Security
benefits.

	Remember that Social Security is more than retirement. Paying Social
Security taxes entitles you and your family to a package of benefits. Your
husband's work history might also entitle you to a benefit.

	If your husband is drawing Social Security, you can receive either
your own retirement benefit as early as age 62, or a benefit based on
one-half of your husband's benefit. You get the larger of the two. But never
both.

	Contrary to myth, there is no maximum benefit paid to a married
couple. In other words, you are not limited to a benefit based on one-half
of your husband's benefit. If your own benefit is higher, Social Security
will pay you that higher amount.

	Divorced? Under certain conditions, you might receive benefits on
your ex-husband's Social Security record. You must be at least 62. Your
marriage must have lasted at least 10 years, and you must be unmarried.

	You might qualify as an ex-wife even before your ex-husband starts
his own Social Security. To qualify as an ex-wife before your ex-husband
retires, your divorce must be at least two years old, you must be presently
unmarried, and both you and your ex-husband must be 62 or older.

	Should you become disabled before full-retirement age, you might
qualify for Social Security disability benefits. However, you must have
worked and paid Social Security taxes in five of 10 years before your
disability. If you stay out of the paid workforce for an extended period to
take care of your family, that five-out-of-ten requirement could keep you
from drawing a Social Security disability benefit.

	Widows can get benefits before age 62. If your husband dies, you can
receive a monthly survivor benefit at 60, at 50 if you are disabled, or at
any age if you are taking care of a child who is under age 16 or disabled.
The same rules hold for surviving ex-spouses.

	Widows have several options in drawing their own Social Security
and/or their survivor benefit. Often, widows take the lower of the two
potential benefits at first, and then switch over to the higher amount at
full-retirement age. By doing that, in some cases, a widow can maximize the
total drawn over her lifetime. Social Security can help you work this out.

	If you earned more money than your husband did, and he dies before
you do, he might be due a widower's benefit based on your record.

	For more detailed information, visit www.socialsecurity.gov/women,
call 1-800-772-1213, or read the publication "What Every Woman Should Know
about Social Security", available free from Social Security.