CNN MONEY — Same-sex couples across the U.S. will now be able to collect spousal Social Security benefits, a Department of Justice official said Thursday.
While many couples may have thought that June’s landmark Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide would have also applied to Social Security benefits, that was unclear … until now.
“With this good news, we are hopeful that widows, widowers and retirees, wherever they lived, who need Social Security spousal benefits earned through years of hard work will soon be able to receive them,” said Susan Sommer, an attorney at Lambda Legal who represents two plaintiffs seeking benefits.
The Social Security Administration will begin processing pending spousal benefit claims for same-sex couples who lived in states that had not previously recognized their marriage, Sommer said.
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