What Divorced Individuals Need to Know About Social Security

Social Security can be a bureaucratic maze for anyone. If you’re divorced, the path gets even more complicated, and potentially more rewarding, if you know how to navigate the system.

Many people are unaware that you may be eligible to claim benefits based on your ex-spouse’s earnings record, even years after a divorce. In the right circumstances, this could significantly increase your monthly income in retirement, and in some cases, allow you to retire earlier than you thought possible.

Take Judith, a 65-year-old woman who spent much of her adult life raising children and working part-time while her husband built a high-earning career. They divorced more than a decade ago, and Judith has been trying to stretch her savings ever since. When she looked at her Social Security estimate, it was based solely on her limited earnings and it wasn’t enough to retire on comfortably.

Her plan? Keep working and delay Social Security to try to boost the numbers.

Then she discovered something that changed everything: because she was married to her ex for over 10 years, hadn’t remarried, and her ex was already collecting Social Security, she qualified for a spousal benefit worth up to 50% of his full retirement amount. That one piece of information shifted her entire plan. She no longer needed to delay retirement or settle for less.

The Catch: These Rules Are Complicated

The Social Security Administration doesn’t exactly spell these options out, and the fine print matters. Eligibility hinges on your age, your marital history, your ex’s filing status, and more. And the strategy changes again if your ex passes away and you become eligible for survivor benefits.

That means decisions like when to claim, which benefit to use, and how to time your filing can have a real and lasting impact on your retirement income.

Working with a financial advisor who can optimize your claiming strategy and help guide you through the complex bureaucracy can lead to years of higher income and greater flexibility in retirement.

Whether you're married, divorced, widowed, or single, one thing is certain: Social Security is too important to wing it. Let’s make sure you’re getting everything you’ve earned.