This article talks about spousal and survivor benefits for divorcees. It gets a little technical, but it’s worth a read if this applies to you or a loved one. Let’s start with the following illustration: 

A female client aged 59, currently working with a Primary Insurance Amount (PIA – the Social Security benefit you are eligible for at Full Retirement Age, or “FRA”) of $2,500, divorced for over 10 years and her ex will be 60 later this year with also a PIA of $2,500. Does her ex have to claim before she can receive any spousal benefits? And is it worth it if they have similar PIAs? She has heard that she would be able to receive benefits, continue to work and delay her benefit until FRA.

Let’s take that last sentence, break it down, and clarify each part:

She has heard that she would be able to receive benefits, continue to work and delay her benefit until FRA. No. Because her PIA is more than 50% of her ex’s PIA, she will not ever be entitled to a divorced spouse benefit. This is one of the requirements for divorced spouse benefits: the claimant’s PIA must be less than 50% of the worker’s PIA.

She has heard that she would be able to receive benefits, continue to work and delay her benefit until FRA. No again. Even if she were entitled to a divorced spouse benefit, all benefits received before full retirement age are subject to the earnings test: $1 in benefits will be withheld for every $2 earned over the threshold, which is $21,240 in 2023.

She has heard that she would be able to receive benefits, continue to work and delay her benefit until FRA. Under deemed filing rules, whenever a person files for benefits, they will be paid their own retirement benefit first. It is no longer possible for a person to receive a spousal benefit while delaying their own benefit. Even before the Budget Act of 2015 abolished the claim-now-claim-more-later strategy, it was never possible to do this if filing before FRA.

Unless a divorce was recent, prospective claimants may not be entitled to divorced- spouse benefits because they have had to work to support themselves, boosting their own Social Security benefit, making it more than half their ex’s. If the divorced person’s PIA is more than about $1,800, there would be no divorced spouse benefits paid. The PIA for a maximum earner is now pushing $3,600. Half of that is $1,800. So, if your benefit is more than that, it’s safe to say you will not be entitled to a divorced spouse benefit.

If the divorced spouse’s PIA is less than $1,800, she may or may not be entitled depending on her ex’s PIA. When she files, she can provide information about her ex (name, birthdate, SSN if she has it), and SSA will look up his records and determine if her PIA is less than half of his. If so, she may receive a spousal add-on equal to that difference (reduced if she is filing before FRA).

Even if a divorced spouse is not entitled to a divorced spouse benefit because their own benefit is too high, she may be entitled to a divorced spouse survivor benefit if their ex dies. That’s because the survivor benefit will equal 100% of the ex’s benefit, and this may be higher than the divorced spouse’s own benefit. Unless she is receiving a divorced spouse benefit (in which case the divorced spouse benefit will automatically convert to a divorced spouse survivor benefit upon the death of the ex), SSA will not notify her when the ex dies. It will be her responsibility to learn of the death and proactively apply for the divorced spouse survivor benefit. With women still generally outliving men and given the high divorce rate of the boomer generation, there will likely be a great many divorced spouse survivor benefits paid out over the next 20–30 years—providing the women know to claim them.

Rules for divorced spouse benefits

To qualify for a divorced spouse benefit a person must:

• Be finally divorced from the worker on whose record benefits are being claimed 
• Have been married over 10 years
• Be currently unmarried 
• Be at least age 62

Here are some facts about divorced benefits with examples.

The worker on whose record the benefit is being claimed must be at least age 62. If the divorce occurred more than two years prior, the worker does not need to have filed for his or her own retirement benefit.

Example: Michael and Maria were married over 10 years. They have been divorced over two years. Both are age 62. Maria has not remarried. Maria is eligible for a divorced spouse benefit based on Michael’s work record, regardless of whether or not Michael has filed for his benefit.

If the divorced spouse benefit is claimed at full retirement age or later, it will be 50% of the worker’s primary insurance amount (PIA).

Example: Jim and Judy are divorced. Jim’s PIA is $3,200. Judy does not qualify for a benefit on her own record. Judy files for her divorced spouse benefit at her FRA. She will receive 50% of Jim’s PIA, or $1,360, as her divorced spouse benefit.

If the divorced person also qualifies for a benefit on her own work record, she will be paid her own benefit first. If her PIA is less than half of his PIA, she will receive that difference in addition to her own benefit.

Example: Tom and Trudy are divorced. Tom’s PIA is $3,200. Trudy’s PIA is $800. Trudy files at her FRA. She will receive her own benefit of $800 plus the difference between her PIA and one-half of Tom’s PIA ($3,200 ÷ 2 = $1,600 – $800 = $800) for a total benefit of $1,600 ($800 + $800). If Trudy had claimed prior to FRA, both her own benefit and the spousal add-on would be reduced for early claiming.

A person who has been divorced twice can choose the higher of the two divorced spouse benefits, if each marriage lasted at least ten years and the applicant is currently unmarried. But remember, if she also qualifies for a benefit on her own work record, she must take that benefit first. And if she has been divorced less than two years, the ex must have filed for his benefit.

Example: Susan was married to Sam for 20 years. She was married to Steve for 12 years. Susan is now single, and it has been more than two years since her divorce from Steve. Sam’s PIA is $3,200. Steve’s PIA is $3,000. Susan does not qualify for a benefit on her own record. She is FRA. When she files, she can choose to receive half of Sam’s PIA since it is higher than Steve’s.

If the person applying for the divorced spouse benefit worked in a non-Social Security covered job, the divorced spouse benefit will be reduced by two-thirds of the amount of her pension under the Government Pension Offset. This will likely reduce it to zero.

Example: Greta worked as a teacher in Texas, where she did not pay into Social Security. She is currently receiving a pension of $3,000 per month. She is divorced from George, to whom she was married more than ten years. George’s PIA is $2,800. 

Greta’s divorced spouse benefit of $1,400 would be reduced by $2,000 (2/3 of $3,000), which reduces the benefit to zero. If George dies, Greta will become eligible for a divorced spouse survivor benefit. After the GPO reduction she will receive $800 ($2,800 – $2,000 = $800).

If a couple has married, divorced, remarried, and divorced again, the two marriages can be added together (including the time in between) for the purpose of determining the ten years, providing the remarriage occurred before the end of the calendar year following the divorce.

Example: Peter and Paula were married from June 2001 to September 2008 (7 years). They remarried in December 2009 and divorced in November 2012 (3 years). They meet the 10-year requirement because the remarriage took place before the end of the calendar year following the first divorce.

Here are some additional facts:

The ex-spouse’s marital status is not relevant for a divorced person claiming benefits off an ex-spouse’s record. If the ex-spouse has remarried, both the divorced spouse and the current spouse may receive spousal benefits off the ex’s record (or survivor benefits if he dies).

When filing for divorced spouse benefits, the applicant will need to provide a copy of the divorce decree showing the dates of the marriage and divorce. 

It is helpful, but not essential, to provide SSA with the ex-spouse’s Social Security number. This can be found on an old joint tax return. If the ex-spouse’s Social Security number is not available, the worker can access the ex-spouse’s records if given sufficient identifying information (full name, birthdate).

Like spousal benefits, divorced spouse benefits are based on the worker’s PIA. The age at which the worker claimed his benefit is not relevant. That is, the divorced spouse benefit will be the same regardless of whether the worker’s own benefit is reduced for early claiming or includes delayed credits for claiming after FRA. Also, like spousal benefits, if the worker is subject to the Windfall Elimination Provision because he is receiving a pension from a job not covered by Social Security, the divorced spouse benefit will be based on the WEP-adjusted PIA.

If a person receiving divorced spouse benefits remarries, the person must notify SSA and the divorced spouse benefits will stop. The exception is if the new spouse is also receiving divorced spouse or survivor benefits, in which case both benefits may continue. Also, the one-year marriage requirement is waived if a person receiving divorced spouse benefits remarries: she may immediately switch to the spousal benefit off her new husband.

Remember the rule on remarriage: If the ex-spouse is still alive, remarriage at any age will stop entitlement to divorced spouse benefits. If the ex-spouse is deceased, divorced spouse survivor benefits may be paid if remarriage took place after age 60. If the remarriage took place before age 60, no divorced spouse survivor benefits may be paid unless that marriage ends.