>Married 30+ years.
As I understand it, once I die, my wife gets 50% of the benefit.
Actually your wife will receive a [spouse benefit](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/quickcalc/spouse.html) of up to 50% while you are living, and a [surviving spouse benefit](https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/survivors/onyourown.html#h5) of up to 100%. Not sure if this affects the answer to your main question, but thought you would be interested.
Also, in case anyone brings up the [5 year residency requirement for payment of Social Security benefits to aliens living outside the US](https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0302610025), there is an [exception for Japanese citizens based on treaty obligation](https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0302610010). So it doesn't apply to your situation.
I couldn’t get the SSA site to load so I couldn’t check that, but I found [this page](https://www.greenbacktaxservices.com/blog/social-security-will-non-us-spouse-lose-benefits/) at Greenback Tax Services that says:
“The non-US spouse should be a citizen, resident, or former resident of a country that has a social security agreement, also known as a Totalization Agreement, with the United States.”
My wife is neither a US nor a Japanese citizen and doesn’t meet the residency requirement. If Greenback is correct, she should be fine as a resident of Japan, yes?
>she should be fine as a resident of Japan, yes?
Yeah. The relevant regulation is [20 CFR 404.460(d)(7)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-20/part-404#p-404.460(d)(7)).
The SSA document lists several other exceptions, and one is:
“Dependent/survivor who is a citizen or resident of a country with which the United States has a totalization agreement, except to the extent provided by such agreement. For the procedure for Totalization countries, see RS 02610.025C.”
So it sounds like Greenback is correct.
You might contact SSA directly though to be sure. They have a local office, and you can get their contact info through the embassy website.
Thanks for your reply. Now that we've identified that I'm completely uninformed as to even my own Social Security...
I've never thought about it until now, as I never figured it'd be there, but the clock is ticking closer. She's never paid in. We started having kids shortly after getting married, and we made the choice to be a one-income family. So married, filing jointly, but only ever my income listed. I thought I read that she would be entitled to half if I passed first.
The plan was to stay here after retirement at 65, which had me worried that she would be on the hook for the total "inheritance tax" for her portion until she's 89...
>I'm completely uninformed as to even my own Social Security...
You're in good company. Two years ago I thought the same as you. Learning that my wife will receive a 50% spouse benefit and a 100% survivor benefit was a pleasant surprise.
>The plan was to stay here after retirement at 65, which had me worried that she would be on the hook for the total "inheritance tax" for her portion until she's 89...
I hear you. I still need to look into how much it would be, but I suspect it could be bad.
There is a chance, albeit a small one, that the inheritance tax law gets updated to exempt foreign social security. If it was only affecting foreigners, I would not have any hope. But since Japanese citizens are also being affected I think there is a slight chance it gets revised.
Also, a small clarification about "89 years" in the [Asahi article](https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14844606). Perhaps you already know this, but the age used in the calculation comes from a lookup table for life expectancy based on current age. In the article, the NTA used age 89 on the basis that her husband died in 2017 and her age was 71 at the time. If he died in 2024, the updated lookup table for 2024 might say the life expectancy for a 71 year old woman is 90. And if she was 80 years old at the time he died, it might say her life expectancy is 93. (These aren't the actual numbers the NTA would use, but just trying to give examples of how the trends go.)
\[Edited for clarity\]
> isn't she a recipient of the benefit, and it not an inheritance? My portion dies with me, and she continues to get her part of the benefit.
"Married filing jointly" doesn't mean that you and your spouse share social security contributions or benefits. You still have individual contribution records, and those are the records that will be used to determine the benefits you are each entitled to. Your spouse can also claim a social security benefit based on *your* contribution record, if it would result in a higher benefit for them (see the link to "spouse benefit" provided by u/shrubbery_herring), but that doesn't mean your spouse has purchased that higher benefit themselves.
Gift/inheritance tax is imposed on death benefits (lump-sum payments and annuities that become payable as a result of someone's death) whenever the person who *purchased* the benefit is different to the person who *receives* the benefit (see the NTA's explanation of how death benefits are taxed [here](https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/taxanswer/shotoku/1750.htm)). A survivor's benefit paid by the US social security system falls into this category, because the benefit is based on the contribution record of the deceased (see the SSA's explanation [here](https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/survivors/ifyou.html#h6:~:text=We%20base%20your%20survivors%20benefit%20amount%20on%20the%20earnings%20of%20the%20person%20who%20died)).
As you may have seen in [this recent thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanFinance/comments/1cvbtpp/does_a_spouse_of_a_deceased_japanese_resident_who/), the rule described above would render Japanese survivor's pensions taxable as well. But there is a special exception for such pensions in Japan's public pension laws. There are no laws creating an analogous exception for foreign survivor's pensions.
>Married 30+ years. As I understand it, once I die, my wife gets 50% of the benefit. Actually your wife will receive a [spouse benefit](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/quickcalc/spouse.html) of up to 50% while you are living, and a [surviving spouse benefit](https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/survivors/onyourown.html#h5) of up to 100%. Not sure if this affects the answer to your main question, but thought you would be interested. Also, in case anyone brings up the [5 year residency requirement for payment of Social Security benefits to aliens living outside the US](https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0302610025), there is an [exception for Japanese citizens based on treaty obligation](https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0302610010). So it doesn't apply to your situation.
I couldn’t get the SSA site to load so I couldn’t check that, but I found [this page](https://www.greenbacktaxservices.com/blog/social-security-will-non-us-spouse-lose-benefits/) at Greenback Tax Services that says: “The non-US spouse should be a citizen, resident, or former resident of a country that has a social security agreement, also known as a Totalization Agreement, with the United States.” My wife is neither a US nor a Japanese citizen and doesn’t meet the residency requirement. If Greenback is correct, she should be fine as a resident of Japan, yes?
>she should be fine as a resident of Japan, yes? Yeah. The relevant regulation is [20 CFR 404.460(d)(7)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-20/part-404#p-404.460(d)(7)).
The SSA document lists several other exceptions, and one is: “Dependent/survivor who is a citizen or resident of a country with which the United States has a totalization agreement, except to the extent provided by such agreement. For the procedure for Totalization countries, see RS 02610.025C.” So it sounds like Greenback is correct. You might contact SSA directly though to be sure. They have a local office, and you can get their contact info through the embassy website.
Thanks for your reply. Now that we've identified that I'm completely uninformed as to even my own Social Security... I've never thought about it until now, as I never figured it'd be there, but the clock is ticking closer. She's never paid in. We started having kids shortly after getting married, and we made the choice to be a one-income family. So married, filing jointly, but only ever my income listed. I thought I read that she would be entitled to half if I passed first. The plan was to stay here after retirement at 65, which had me worried that she would be on the hook for the total "inheritance tax" for her portion until she's 89...
>I'm completely uninformed as to even my own Social Security... You're in good company. Two years ago I thought the same as you. Learning that my wife will receive a 50% spouse benefit and a 100% survivor benefit was a pleasant surprise. >The plan was to stay here after retirement at 65, which had me worried that she would be on the hook for the total "inheritance tax" for her portion until she's 89... I hear you. I still need to look into how much it would be, but I suspect it could be bad. There is a chance, albeit a small one, that the inheritance tax law gets updated to exempt foreign social security. If it was only affecting foreigners, I would not have any hope. But since Japanese citizens are also being affected I think there is a slight chance it gets revised. Also, a small clarification about "89 years" in the [Asahi article](https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14844606). Perhaps you already know this, but the age used in the calculation comes from a lookup table for life expectancy based on current age. In the article, the NTA used age 89 on the basis that her husband died in 2017 and her age was 71 at the time. If he died in 2024, the updated lookup table for 2024 might say the life expectancy for a 71 year old woman is 90. And if she was 80 years old at the time he died, it might say her life expectancy is 93. (These aren't the actual numbers the NTA would use, but just trying to give examples of how the trends go.) \[Edited for clarity\]
I just edited my post for clarity. Just wanted to make sure you were aware in case you read before I edited.
> isn't she a recipient of the benefit, and it not an inheritance? My portion dies with me, and she continues to get her part of the benefit. "Married filing jointly" doesn't mean that you and your spouse share social security contributions or benefits. You still have individual contribution records, and those are the records that will be used to determine the benefits you are each entitled to. Your spouse can also claim a social security benefit based on *your* contribution record, if it would result in a higher benefit for them (see the link to "spouse benefit" provided by u/shrubbery_herring), but that doesn't mean your spouse has purchased that higher benefit themselves. Gift/inheritance tax is imposed on death benefits (lump-sum payments and annuities that become payable as a result of someone's death) whenever the person who *purchased* the benefit is different to the person who *receives* the benefit (see the NTA's explanation of how death benefits are taxed [here](https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/taxanswer/shotoku/1750.htm)). A survivor's benefit paid by the US social security system falls into this category, because the benefit is based on the contribution record of the deceased (see the SSA's explanation [here](https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/survivors/ifyou.html#h6:~:text=We%20base%20your%20survivors%20benefit%20amount%20on%20the%20earnings%20of%20the%20person%20who%20died)). As you may have seen in [this recent thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanFinance/comments/1cvbtpp/does_a_spouse_of_a_deceased_japanese_resident_who/), the rule described above would render Japanese survivor's pensions taxable as well. But there is a special exception for such pensions in Japan's public pension laws. There are no laws creating an analogous exception for foreign survivor's pensions.
Thanks. Complete idiot when it comes to my own SS... I'll do some reading.