Q: Would you please explain to me how a young woman could possibly be getting Social Security benefits? I was standing in line at a grocery store when I overheard a gal who looked to be in her mid 20s telling the checker that she was low on money until the next Social Security checks came in for her and her kids. No wonder Social Security has problems if we're paying money to young people who ought to be out there supporting themselves!

A: My hunch is the young woman was getting what the government calls "mother's benefits." Those are monthly Social Security checks paid to a young widow who is caring for her deceased husband's children.

Although most people tend to think of widows on Social Security as little old ladies in their 70s or 80s or even older, there are several million young women who collect Social Security benefits because their husbands have died and they're saddled with the responsibility of raising the children on their own.

Social Security survivor benefits were never meant to fully support these young widows and their children. But the relatively small monthly checks, averaging about $2,000 per month for a mother with two kids, help lighten the financial burden faced by a woman who's lost the father of her children and the income he was bringing into the household.

Q: I am about to turn 66 and plan to apply for my Social Security. My wife also is 66 and has never worked. We have been married for 25 years. I understand she will get part of my Social Security. But I was married before, for about 12 years, to another woman. This other woman has also remarried and she's been with her second husband for about 20 years. Someone just told me that my first wife will also be eligible for part of my Social Security, and that it may reduce the amount my current wife will receive. That doesn't seem fair! Is this true?

A: It wouldn't be fair — and it's not true. When your first wife remarried, she relinquished all rights she had to claim any benefits as a divorced wife on your Social Security record.

Your first wife will be eligible for wife's benefits on her current husband's Social Security retirement account. And your current wife will be due full wife's benefits on your account.

There is, however, one potential twist to this story. If your first wife's husband dies, there is a slight possibility she might be due divorced wife's benefits on your record.

The law says a woman who is not currently married can be eligible for benefits on any ex-husband's Social Security account, as long as she was married to him for at least 10 years.

But there are a couple reasons you shouldn't be losing sleep over this remote possibility.

First, it is much more likely she will be due higher benefits as a widow from her second husband's Social Security record. That's because a widow's rate is much higher (up to 100 percent of the deceased husband's retirement benefit) than a divorced wife's rate, which would be only 50 percent of your retirement benefit.

Second, even if she were due anything on your Social Security account, it would not offset the benefits your current wife would be receiving. Any money paid to a divorced spouse is an "add-on" benefit that in no way jeopardizes the eligibility of a current spouse or the amount of money that's paid to her.

To find out more about Tom Margenau and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.