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Retirement

Understanding Social Security benefits for divorced spouses

Learn if you qualify for Social Security benefits for divorced spouses. Evaluate your eligibility based on your ex-spouse's earnings record.
11 minute read

Points to know

  • If you're divorced and haven't remarried, you may be eligible to receive Social Security benefits based on your former spouse's work record. To apply for divorced spouse benefits, you'll need to provide proof of your marriage and divorce, as well as your ex-spouse's Social Security number. You can apply for these benefits by filling out an application online or at your local Social Security office. To avoid any delays in receiving your benefits, try and apply as soon as possible. For more information and to start the application process, visit the Social Security Administration website or contact your local office.

Start with your Social Security benefits estimate

If you're divorced and thinking about your potential Social Security benefits, there are a few steps you can take to estimate your potential payment amount. You can visit the official Social Security Administration website and use their online calculator to estimate your benefits. You'll need to have information on your own work history and earnings. Additionally, if you were married for at least 10 years and haven't remarried, you may be eligible for benefits based on your ex-spouse's earnings. In this case, you can contact the Social Security Administration to request an estimate of these potential benefits. Keep in mind that these are just estimates and your actual benefit amount may vary. It's always best to consult with a financial advisor or the Social Security Administration directly for more information.

Factors that could reduce your Social Security benefits

Before you plug your estimated Social Security benefits into your retirement plan, be sure to adjust those estimates if any of these factors apply to see how much you might end up with.

  • Working while collecting Social Security. If you work while receiving Social Security benefits and haven't yet reached full retirement age, your payments may be temporarily reduced.
  • Taxes on payments. You may need to pay federal and state taxes on your Social Security benefits.
  • Paying Medicare premiums. Your Medicare premiums may be deducted directly from your Social Security payments.
  • Receiving government pensions. If you receive a pension not covered by Social Security (certain state and local government pensions), it could decrease your Social Security benefits.

Who is eligible for an ex-spouse's Social Security benefits?

Wondering about the eligibility criteria to collect an ex-spouse's Social Security benefits? Run through the checklist below to see if you qualify (you must meet all of the criteria):

  • You were married to that spouse for 10 years or more and have been divorced for at least 2 years (only applies if that spouse isn't claiming yet).
  • You're at least 62 years old.
  • You're currently unmarried.
  • Your ex-spouse is eligible for Social Security retirement or disability benefits.

Additionally, your own income may affect eligibility.

Whose earnings record should you collect on?

Social Security benefits for a divorced spouse are calculated based on the ex-spouse's earnings record or their own earnings record, depending on which one is higher. You're entitled to half of your ex's benefits if you start collecting once you reach your full retirement age (FRA). But you won't receive increased benefits by waiting past your FRA before you start collecting. If the benefits you'd receive by collecting on your own earnings record are more than what you'd collect on your ex's record, you'll collect your own.

Full Retirement Age (FRA)

The age at which you're eligible for your full monthly benefits, also known as the primary insurance amount (PIA). The Social Security Administration sometimes refers to full retirement age as "normal retirement age" (NRA).

Earnings record

The history of your earnings for the years you worked.

Quick facts about claiming on your ex's earnings record:

  • You can claim even if your ex has remarried.
  • You can claim even if your ex hasn't retired and isn't receiving Social Security benefits (as long as your ex is at least 62 and you've been divorced at least 2 years).
  • Claiming won't reduce your ex's Social Security benefits or their current spouse's benefits.
  • The Social Security Administration won't notify your ex that you've claimed on their record.

KEEP IN MIND

If you collect Social Security before you reach your FRA, your benefits will be permanently reduced whether you're collecting on your own earnings record or your ex's record.

Full Retirement Age (FRA)

The age at which you're eligible for your full monthly benefits, also known as the primary insurance amount (PIA). The Social Security Administration sometimes refers to full retirement age as "normal retirement age" (NRA).

Earnings record

The history of your earnings for the years you worked.

When is the best time to claim divorced spouse retirement benefits?

As you consider the right time to start collecting Social Security, remember that if you decide to delay, you can revisit that decision whenever you'd like.

Anyone who has paid Social Security taxes for at least 10 years can start to receive retirement benefits as early as age 62 based on their earnings record.

Collecting Social Security at 62 has some advantages. For example, you may be ready to retire and counting on Social Security as the cornerstone of your retirement plan. After all, if you've paid 10 years of Social Security taxes, then you're entitled to Social Security benefits.

If you have serious health problems or a family history that suggests you may not live long enough to profit from waiting, collecting early might make the most sense for you.

On the other hand, the earlier you start to collect, the less you'll receive each month. But if you start to collect and then change your mind, you have 2 options.

The "reset" rule

Within 12 months of starting to collect, you can "reset" your benefits to erase the reduction, but you must repay all of the benefits you and your family earned.

See how it works: The "reset" rule

The voluntary suspension rule

If you started collecting before your FRA, you can suspend your benefits at FRA and restart them later.

See how it works: Voluntary suspension

Earnings record

The history of your earnings for the years you worked.

The "reset" rule

Deborah started to receive Social Security benefits at age 64. Nearly a year later, she's working again and she wishes she'd waited until her full retirement age (FRA) so that she could have received higher benefits. Deborah can pay back all the payments she received, without interest, and file paperwork with the Social Security Administration to stop her benefits and withdraw her application.

By doing that, she "resets" her Social Security benefits so that when she starts to collect again, she'll receive a higher benefit amount based on her age. Deborah needs to consider the source of the funds she's required to return to Social Security. Using taxable assets or taking a distribution from a retirement account may be the most tax-efficient means of raising funds for the payback.

Reset rule bar graph.

Full Retirement Age (FRA)

The age at which you're eligible for your full monthly benefits, also known as the primary insurance amount (PIA). The Social Security Administration sometimes refers to full retirement age as "normal retirement age" (NRA).

Voluntary suspension

Cheryl, age 61, is starting to look at her Social Security options.

  • If she claims early, at age 62, her benefits would be reduced by 25% to $750 a month.
  • If she claims her benefits at her full retirement age (FRA) of 66, she'll be due $1,000 a month.
  • If she waits until age 70 to claim, that number would rise 32% to $1,320 a month (in real, inflation-adjusted terms).

Now, if Cheryl claims early (the "start"), she can voluntarily suspend her benefits at age 66 (the "stop").

Then when she resumes her benefits at age 70 (the second "start"), that $750 she had been receiving before she suspended her benefits would rise by 32% to $990 a month. That payment is significantly higher than $750, but is far lower than the $1,320 she'd receive if she waited until age 70 to claim benefits initially.*

Voluntary suspension of benefits graph.

*Sources: Vanguard calculations, based on data from Society of Actuaries, 2014, RP-2014 Mortality Tables Report (Schaumberg, Ill.: Society of Actuaries), and Society of Actuaries, 2014, Mortality Improvement Scale MP-2014 Report (Schaumberg, Ill.: Society of Actuaries).

If you start collecting Social Security retirement benefits at your FRA, you'll receive 100% of your primary insurance amount (PIA). But remember that you can collect more than 100% of your PIA by waiting beyond your FRA (this only applies for retirement benefits).

You'll earn an extra 0.67% each month that you delay your Social Security benefits past your FRA. That's an extra 8% for each year that you wait past FRA … and what other investment can guarantee an 8% annual increase?*

Full Retirement Age (FRA)

The age at which you're eligible for your full monthly benefits, also known as the primary insurance amount (PIA). The Social Security Administration sometimes refers to full retirement age as "normal retirement age" (NRA).

Primary insurance amounts (PIA)

Also known as the full monthly benefit amount, the Social Security benefits you'll receive if you start collecting at your full retirement age (FRA). The benefits are based on your historical earnings.

If you can wait until you're 70, you'll receive your highest Social Security payments—up to 132% of your PIA if your FRA is 66, or 124% of your PIA if your FRA is 67.

Primary insurance amounts (PIA)

Also known as the full monthly benefit amount, the Social Security benefits you'll receive if you start collecting at your full retirement age (FRA). The benefits are based on your historical earnings.

Full Retirement Age (FRA)

The age at which you're eligible for your full monthly benefits, also known as the primary insurance amount (PIA). The Social Security Administration sometimes refers to full retirement age as "normal retirement age" (NRA).

Of course, you don't have to file when you reach one of the milestones listed above—62, FRA, or 70. You can apply for survivors benefits as early as age 60 and for your own Social Security retirement benefits anytime between the ages of 62 and 70.

An advanced claiming strategy (if you were born before January 2, 1954)

If you were born before January 2, 1954, you have an additional option. You can claim on one earnings record at FRA and then switch to the other later. In some cases, taking the lower benefits at FRA can pay off down the road.

See how it works: Born before January 2, 1954

Maria and Tom were married for 22 years and have been divorced for 15 years. Maria never remarried. (Tom did remarry, which affects his ability to claim on Maria's earnings record, but it doesn't affect Maria's ability to claim on his record.) They're both 65, both were born before January 2, 1954, and their full retirement age (FRA) is 66.

At FRA, Maria will be eligible to receive $1,200 a month based on her own record, and Tom will be eligible to receive $2,000 a month based on his record.

Maria will have 2 options when she reaches FRA:

  • She can collect on her own record, which will pay her $1,200 a month.
  • She can collect on Tom's record, which will pay her half of Tom's benefits— $1,000 a month.

Why might Maria consider taking the lower payment at FRA? Because that decision could pay off for her in the long run.

If she collects on Tom's record first, Maria's own benefits would increase to $1,584 a month at age 70. Maria has a family history of longevity, and she's in relatively good health at age 66. So she decides to claim on Tom's record first, then switch to her own record at 70.

Tom never needs to know that Maria is claiming based on his record, and Maria's claim doesn't affect his ability to claim. But if Maria remarries between 66 and 70, she won't be able to claim on Tom's record.

The option to claim on Tom's record first and allow her primary insurance amount (PIA) to grow is only available to Maria because she was born before January 2, 1954.

Had she been born on or after that date, at FRA she would have qualified for $1,200 a month based on her own record or $1,000 a month based on Tom's record. If she delayed Social Security until age 70, her own benefits would increase 8% for each year she waits past her FRA. But her benefits based on Tom's record wouldn't grow.

What's next?

Social Security provides more than just retirement benefits—and the federal government offers more than just Social Security benefits. As you put your retirement plan together, check to see whether you qualify for other government benefits, such as family and children services, tax assistance, and active military or veterans benefits.

Go to benefits.gov to see which benefits you qualify for

How to apply for divorced spouse Social Security benefits

You can file for Social Security benefits online, over the phone, or in person at a local Social Security Administration office.

Learn how to file for Social Security benefits

Find a Social Security office near you

You may need to produce these documents when you apply:

  • Your Social Security card.
  • An original birth certificate or other proof of your birth.
  • A copy of your W-2 form or self-employment tax return for the previous year.
  • Your marriage certificate and divorce decree.
  • If you weren't born in the United States, proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful alien status.

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What if I don't have my ex-spouse's Social Security number?

Don't know—and can't ask for—your ex-spouse's Social Security number? Don't worry. When you apply for Social Security, you can get an estimate of what you might receive by providing your former spouse's name, date and place of birth, and parents' names.

GET YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY ESTIMATES

¹The amount of your monthly benefits also increases for each month you wait between age 62 and your full retirement age (FRA), but the rate is lower than 8% per year and varies depending on your age.

Go to ssa.gov to get your Social Security estimates

Work with a Vanguard advisor or call 855-850-6972 to speak with an investment professional.

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1The amount of your monthly benefits also increases for each month you wait between age 62 and your full retirement age (FRA), but the rate is lower than 8% per year and varies depending on your age.

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