Social Security: Divorce and Remarriage Can Increase Benefits Significantly (Especially Among Wealthy)
Written by
Vance Cariaga
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Daria Uhlig
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For seniors who have been through a divorce, it’s important to know the rules regarding Social Security benefits. Although married couples are entitled to spousal benefits, those benefits don’t always apply to divorced spouses. There are two requirements to qualify for divorce benefits: You can’t currently be married, and your previous marriage must have lasted for at least 10 years.
At full retirement age, you can claim a benefit worth 50% of your ex-spouse’s as long as you were married for at least 10 years and aren’t remarried. However, this benefit will be reduced if you claim before full retirement age, just as it is for any worker claiming a Social Security retirement benefit.
Also, your ex-spouse must be at least 62 years old for you to claim divorce benefits on their record. You must be 62 as well, and you and your ex must have been divorced for at least two years.
If you have been divorced twice, then things get a little trickier. You can claim benefits from one of your ex-spouses, but not both. You can also claim benefits from the ex-spouse with the most earnings.
It’s important to keep in mind that the Social Security Administration will pay the highest benefits you’re entitled to. This could be 100% of your own benefit or 50% of your ex-spouse’s benefit at full retirement age, MarketWatch reported. So, if you were remarried to a wealthy ex-spouse you later divorced, your benefits might rise considerably.
Another thing to remember is that if you choose to remarry after turning 60, and you’ve been collecting benefits on your ex-spouse’s record, those benefits will be suspended, according to Lili Vasileff, a certified divorce financial analyst and author of “Money & Divorce.” You also won’t be able to claim benefits on your new spouse’s record until a full year has passed, Vasileff told MarketWatch.
If those rules aren’t complicated enough, there’s also this: You can collect divorce benefits even if you are eligible for benefits on your own work record — but you can’t get both simultaneously. The amount you collect is the higher of the two.
This all works the other way, too. Your ex-spouse can receive benefits on your record if you have been divorced for at least two straight years, according to the SSA. If your ex-spouse is eligible for retirement benefits on their own record, the SSA will pay that amount first. If the benefit on your record is higher, they will get an additional amount on your record so that the combination of benefits equals that higher amount.
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