A woman generally must be married to her husband for at least one continuous year to qualify for spousal Social Security benefits, provided she is at least 62 years old and her husband is already receiving benefits. If divorced, the marriage must have lasted at least 10 years.
To collect your spouse's Social Security, you generally must have been married for at least one continuous year, be at least age 62 (unless caring for a qualifying child), and your spouse must already be receiving retirement or disability benefits, with a key exception being if you are the parent of the worker's child, the age/length rule can be waived. For divorced spouses, the marriage must have lasted at least 10 years, and you must be unmarried when applying.
Yes, a divorced wife can get her ex-husband's Social Security benefits if their marriage lasted at least 10 years, she is unmarried, is at least 62, and her ex-spouse is eligible for benefits, with payments not reducing the ex-spouse's or their current spouse's benefits. Benefits are paid on the ex-spouse's record, up to half their benefit, and the ex-spouse's remarriage doesn't affect eligibility.
To qualify for Social Security spousal benefits, you must be at least 62 years old, and your spouse must already be receiving their own Social Security benefit. If you are the higher earner, your spouse may be eligible to receive a spousal benefit based on your work record.
The spousal benefit can be as much as half of the worker's "primary insurance amount," depending on the spouse's age at retirement. If the spouse begins receiving benefits before "normal (or full) retirement age," the spouse will receive a reduced benefit.
If you remarry after age 60 – You may be eligible for survivors benefits on your deceased spouse's record or benefits on your new spouse's record. Contact us to find out where you are due the greatest benefit amount.
How long does a widow receive survivor benefits? Social Security benefits are payable to you for life unless you collect a retirement benefit that is greater than the survivor benefit.
Call your local office or Social Security's national customer service line (800-772-1213) to make an appointment. You'll need to show your marriage certificate and divorce decree to prove that the union lasted at least 10 years, the basic qualification for ex-spouses to receive benefits.
The Social Security "10-year rule" allows a divorced spouse to claim benefits on their former spouse's record if the marriage lasted at least 10 years, they are unmarried, and at least 62 years old, without affecting the ex-spouse's benefit amount. This rule provides a financial safety net, letting individuals collect up to 50% of their ex's benefit, even if their own Social Security earnings are lower, and the ex doesn't need to have filed for benefits yet.
In your divorce agreement you may have given up the right to his retirement account from his work, but you can never give up the right to draw Social Security. Remember, drawing a Spousal benefit won't reduce the amount your ex spouse can get! It doesn't hurt your ex or his current spouse at all.
A divorced spouse can receive up to 50% of their ex-spouse's full Social Security retirement benefit, provided the marriage lasted at least 10 years, they are unmarried, and they are at least 62, with the full 50% only available if they claim at their own Full Retirement Age (FRA); claiming earlier (as early as 62) results in a permanently reduced benefit, starting at around 32.5%. The benefit doesn't affect the ex-spouse's own payment and is paid on top of any benefit the divorced spouse earns on their own record, up to a combined total.
The maximum ex-spousal benefit is up to 50% of the higher earner's benefit and capped at their full retirement age (FRA) amount, also known as the Primary Insurance Amount or PIA. Most will get a higher benefit based on their own record, rather than an ex-spouse's.
The Social Security spousal benefits loophole, primarily the "File and Suspend" and "Restricted Application" strategies, allowed a higher-earning spouse to delay their own benefits (earning delayed retirement credits) while the lower-earning spouse collected a spousal benefit based on the higher earner's record; however, a 2015 law closed these loopholes for most new applicants, meaning if one spouse claims spousal benefits, their own benefits are also considered claimed, and benefits can't be suspended to let spousal benefits accrue. A separate, less-known exception allows a spouse caring for a disabled adult child (under 22) to receive benefits even if they haven't reached retirement age, as noted by Special Needs Answers.
The Social Security "10-year marriage rule" allows a divorced spouse to claim benefits on their ex-spouse's earnings record if their marriage lasted at least 10 years, they are currently unmarried (unless the ex-spouse has remarried), are at least 62, and the ex-spouse is eligible for retirement or disability benefits, without reducing the ex-spouse's benefit. This rule helps lower-earning or non-working spouses receive benefits if their own record is smaller, and it applies even if the ex-spouse has remarried, provided the ex-spouse is receiving benefits.
Not all U.S. workers qualify for Social Security retirement benefits. You can't collect Social Security in retirement if you haven't worked enough to accrue 40 credits, which takes approximately 10 years. Certain types of government workers may not be eligible, including some railroad employees.
you're eligible for some of your ex's Social Security
That means most divorced women collect their own Social Security while the ex is alive, but can apply for higher widow's rates when he dies.
The biggest recent change is the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA) of 2023, effective January 2024, which eliminated the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), meaning your spouse's or survivor's benefits won't be reduced by your non-Social Security government pension anymore, making it much fairer. Also, the "file and suspend" strategy for spousal benefits ended for most, but the core rules remain: you get the higher of your own or your spousal benefit (up to 50% of your partner's), and you can generally switch from spousal to your own higher retirement benefit at full retirement age.
You may inherit part of or all of your partner's extra State Pension or lump sum if: they died while they were deferring their State Pension (before claiming) or they had started claiming it after deferring. they reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016. you were married or in the civil partnership when they died.