The Social Security Administration recently granted gay widower John D. Roberts with spousal-survivor benefits, almost two years after he initially requested them.
Roberts, 64, of North Philadelphia, began receiving the benefits in January 2018. He applied for them in February 2016, two months after his spouse, Bernard O. Wilkerson, died. SSA initially denied Roberts’ request, on the basis that the men were only officially married for three months.
In September 2016, Orphans Court Judge George W. Overton ruled that the men were in a common-law marriage dating back to July 4, 1990. But SSA still didn’t grant the monthly benefits, despite Overton’s ruling, according to a lawsuit Roberts filed in May 2017.
He is now receiving the requested benefits, retroactive to January 2016, the month after Wilkerson passed away, according to court papers.
M. Patrick Yingling, an attorney for Roberts, didn’t know whether the case would set a precedent.
“The extent to which the case will have precedential value for future Social Security claimants is still to be determined,” he said. “We’ll see how the court addresses [additional motions in the case]. I’m hopeful for a good result.”
Roberts issued this statement: “Social Security’s refusal to recognize my marriage never made sense. I am grateful to Patrick and the Reed Smith firm for taking my case. And I am thankful the court required Social Security to revise its decision. I know that Bernard would be happy as well. Hopefully this case will help other people in the same situation.”
Yingling said Roberts prefers not to publicly disclose the specific dollar amount of his monthly benefits.
During a November 2017 hearing, U.S. District Judge Berle M. Schiller told attorneys defending SSA: “I don’t want the Social Security Administration to dance and hide and shuck and jive when they know very well that this was a longstanding common-law marriage ruled on by the courts in Pennsylvania.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Degnan said SSA works in good faith with claimants to facilitate the granting of benefits.
“The process at SSA is not adversarial,” Degnan told PGN. “We assist claimants in providing the necessary documentation [of a marriage] and once the necessary documentation is submitted, SSA makes their determination.”
Asked whether SSA would implement a blanket policy recognizing common-law marriages recognized by state courts, Degnan replied: “According to the law passed by Congress, SSA has an obligation to make an independent determination of claims of common-law marriage. We can’t simply rely on a state-court determination. There’s a test that SSA uses.”
He added that SSA treats same-sex common-law marriages the same as it treats those of the opposite sex.
“SSA’s policy regarding common-law marriage is the same regardless of it being a same-sex couple or otherwise. We require the same type of verifiable documentation [regardless of LGBT status].”