Letter to Carolyn Colvin, Commissioner of the US Social Security Administration - Survivor Benefits for Same-Sex Couples
Letter
Dear Commissioner Colvin,
We write regarding an unfortunate and difficult situation that is happening to Mr. Anthony Gonzales. Mr. Gonzales married his long-term partner after same-sex marriage was legalized in New Mexico on August 27, 2013. This was the first day that marriage licenses were issued to same-sex couples in New Mexico. His husband unfortunately passed away on February 19, 2014--approximately 6 months after their marriage.
After his husband's death, Mr. Gonzales applied for Social Security survivor benefits with the Social Security Administration (SSA). According to your correspondence with Mr. Gonzales, however, Mr. Gonzales is not eligible to receive survivor benefits because he was not married for at least 9 months and does not meet the exceptions outlined in the Program Operations Manual Systems (POMS) GN 00305.100 "Marital Relationship Duration." It appears that Mr. Gonzales meets every qualification for survivor benefits except for this 9 month requirement and its exceptions.
We understand that the 9 month requirement is intended to reduce the likelihood that people would marry only to receive survivor benefits. However, Mr. Gonzales and his husband have demonstrated a life-long commitment to each other and were together for 16 years before they married. It is clear that although Mr. Gonzales' application does not meet the requirements in POMS, it meets the underlying purpose of SSA survivor benefits and it is unfair to deny Mr. Gonzales' application, considering that he was legally unable to marry his partner in New Mexico prior to August 27th, 2013.
The Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges expanded the definition of marriage to same-sex partners and held that the right to marry is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. SSA should apply the statutory 9 month survivor benefit requirement differently in light of this landmark Supreme Court ruling in order to accommodate Mr. Gonzales' case and other similar cases. Same-sex couples should always have had the right to legally marry and should not be further burdened by past unconstitutional restrictions on that right.
We believe that SSA should provide an additional exception to the 9 month requirement for survivors who both entered into a same-sex marriage and were widowed or widowered within 9 months of same-sex marriage becoming legal in the state that they were married in. For these unique cases, it would have been impossible for the survivor to meet the 9 month requirement, because they were legally unable to be married in their state long enough to meet the requirement. Will SSA provide such an exception for these cases? If not, why not?
Please closely examine this issue and provide our offices with all the actions you will take to ensure that SSA provides benefits to Mr. Gonzales and others in similar circumstances.
Source