Lots of people get screwed when it comes to SS. My grandmother for instance.
My grandfather dropped dead from a heart attack at the age of 59. He never saw a dime of his SS. He was self employed and payed in the maximum amount.
My grandmother never earned a paycheck once in her whole life. She lived off their savings untill retirement age, then filed for SS. You know what she got??
THE MINIMUM!
You know why? Because she herself never earned a dime and therefore never paid a penny into SS. The fact that her husband WAS her income and paid the MAXIMUM did not matter. He got nothing back because he died too soon. And she got the minumum and was told to feel blessed for the charity.
That’s bullsh1t in my opinion.
THE MINIMUM!”
I think you are wrong on this... She would get 1/2 of his benefit. If he had had 3 wives married to each for at least 10 years, each would get 1/2 of his benefit.
One more excellent reason to privatize the system.
If your grandfather had been paying into a privatized system, he would've owned the fund. And, like everything else in his estate, it would have accrued to your grandmother upon his death.
But it wouldn't have given the Democrats a single vote. So, they'd never agree to privatization.