Margery Brown and Helen Thornton began dating in 1979. Ms. Thornton said that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with this person.
Over the course of three decades, they bought a home, took out loans, shared a checking account and attended family gatherings. Their son's birth certificate had both their names on it. They talked about kayaking in Ireland after retirement.
Ms. Brown was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Ms. Thornton cared for Ms. Brown until she died.
In 2015, shortly before Ms. Thornton turned 60, she walked into the agency's local office carrying bank statements and the title to their house, and applied for survivor's benefits from Social Security.
She said that she thought she would be rejected because of the limited benefits for married couples under Social Security. Ms. Thornton said that she and Ms. Brown would have married. Same-sex marriages became legal in every state after the Supreme Court ruled in 2015.
Ms. Thornton wanted Social Security to see that this was a lesbian couple that had been together for 27 years and that they had equal rights under the law.
The class-action lawsuit that bears Ms. Thornton's name was challenging the policy that limited survivor's benefits to married couples. The agency dropped its appeals against two lawsuits brought by same-sex partners or spouses.
Gay men and lesbians can get survivor's benefits if they can show that they would have married had it been possible. The change could mean more economic protection for people with higher poverty rates.
Six million of the nation's 65 million Social Security beneficiaries receive survivor's benefits. The purpose of the lawsuits is to care for the survivors who lose their romantic and economic partners.
If you are disabled at age 50, you can apply for Social Security benefits at 60, but if you are a widower, you can apply for them at 50.
Trinh Phan is a senior staff attorney at Justice in Aging. The Social Security Administration says that the average survivor's benefit is $1,467 a month.
Ms. Thornton had always worked for nonprofits and never earned as much as Ms. Brown.
Ms. Thornton had to apply for Social Security early because she didn't have enough money to live on her own. She didn't visit family often and lived frugally. She said that she couldn't just buy a plane ticket and go to California. I had to delay maintenance on my house.
After Social Security began paying survivor's benefits, her monthly income nearly doubled to $1,849. She received a lump sum of $72,000 retroactive to when the agency denied her application.
Many people were never able to marry their late same-sex partners. Same-sex couples who were married less than nine months before one spouse died are now eligible for survivor's benefits.
Anthony Gonzalez and his partner, Mark Johnson, lived together in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for 16 years, thinking they would never be able to marry in their state.
Their county clerk began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in August of 2013). Mr. Gonzalez said it was a beautiful day. Same-sex marriage was legalized in New Mexico.
Mr. Johnson died of rectal cancer in early 2014) Mr. Gonzalez lost his accounting job at a nonprofit organization after he helped care for his elderly mother.
He applied for survivor's benefits at 60, but was denied because he and his husband had been married for six months, not nine.
Mr. Gonzalez said his husband would have done the same had their positions been reversed. He said that they both believed that gay men should have the same rights as everyone else. His experience in the Ely case was cited.
The Social Security Administration began giving Mr. Gonzalez survivor's benefits after changing its policy. He can delay claiming his own benefit until he is 70.
How can survivors prove that they married earlier? They need to show proof like joint bank accounts, insurance policies or wills that name a partner as the heir. Ms. Loewy said you shared a home. You could have had a commitment ceremony. There are photos and love letters. You can show that you were in a committed relationship.
She said that Social Security agents are used to making such determinations in cases involving common-law marriages.
Different-sex couples who presented themselves as married, even if they never became legal spouses, may not have faced the same discrimination, fears or need for discretion that same-sex couples faced decades ago. Employers, health care providers and their families were never told about the relationships that some people have.
The challenge for Social Security is to acknowledge different situations.
Many same-sex partners or spouses don't know that they are eligible for survivor's benefits, so they hope the Social Security Administration will conduct more public outreach.
The agency said in an email that it had identified 700 people who had been denied survivor's benefits and that they can have their cases reviewed if they are members of the Ely or Thornton classes. The agency said that less than 100 claims had been processed.
Thousands of people in long-term relationships who never bothered to apply, because they thought it was futile.
Even though their partners or spouses died, they can start the process now. Information for applicants has been posted.
Ms. Thornton said that Margery Brown would be happy that other same-sex partners will benefit from her partner's activism. She said that she was proud that they took it on.
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