LGBTQ+ retirement
We connect your relationship history and your state's rules to the decisions they affect.
For many LGBTQ+ people, the law changed during their lifetime. When you married, whether a civil union came first, and who your chosen family are can all affect survivor benefits, inheritance and who can speak for you. Your Checkup takes your actual history into account, and doesn't assume anything you haven't told us.
What your Checkup looks at
Your relationship history
We look at your marriage, civil union or partnership, when and where each began, and what that means for survivor benefits and taxes. If a date doesn't line up with when your state recognized it, we gently point it out.
Survivor benefits
If earlier laws kept you from marrying sooner, we explain whether the Social Security rulings that address that situation might apply to you.
Your state's rules
We draw on StateMatcher's research on your state's laws, including parentage and adoption routes and nondiscrimination protections, and what changes if you move.
Your chosen family
We help make sure the people you trust can act for you, receive information and inherit, with the right documents rather than assumptions.
Care that respects you
We list the questions to ask any care setting about visitors, privacy and respectful care.
What you’d see · Sample
Your relationship and your benefits
Robert, 71, and James, 68, in Florida. Together since 1986.
You entered a marriage date in 2014, in Florida. Florida began recognizing same-sex marriages in January 2015, so it's worth a second look: if you married in another state first, that earlier date may be the one that counts. You can continue either way.
Because you've been married for well over nine months, James would qualify for a survivor's benefit on Robert's record. Robert's benefit is the larger one, so his choice to wait until 70 to start also raised what James would receive if Robert died first.
You named your friend Ellen as the person you'd want making medical decisions if neither of you could. Without a signed health care surrogate form, Florida law would turn to relatives before a friend, so this one document matters for you.
From a sample Checkup for a fictional household. Your Checkup is written from your own answers.
How it ties into the rest of your plan
- Throughout your Checkup, a short section in each chapter shows how your relationship affects that topic.
- Your survivor forecast follows your actual legal relationship, so the numbers match your situation.