Over the years, I’ve had people ask me what they thought was a simple Social Security question.
“I’m divorced. Can I collect on my ex-spouse’s Social Security?”
My answer? It depends. I know—that’s everyone’s favorite answer! But recently I encountered a situation that demonstrates just how quickly Social Security can go from relatively simple to “I’m so confused!”
Let’s start with the basics.
If you were married for at least 10 years, are currently unmarried, and meet the other requirements, you may qualify for divorced-spouse benefits based on your ex-spouse’s earnings record. At your full retirement age (FRA), the maximum divorced-spouse benefit can be up to 50% of your ex’s full-retirement-age benefit or your own benefit whichever is greater!
Claim earlier and the amount can be permanently reduced. So far, reasonably straightforward.
Then She Decided to Get Married
A client of mine had been married for more than 10 years, subsequently divorced, and was receiving benefits based on her former husband’s record. Then she fell in love and decided to remarry. Great news personally.
Social Security? Now we’ve got some explaining to do.
Generally, remarriage ends eligibility for divorced-spouse benefits on a living former spouse. She could potentially qualify for benefits on her new husband’s record, but ordinarily not until they had been married for one year.
That raised an interesting planning question: What happens in between? Depending upon her circumstances, her own retirement benefit could become important during that period, thus she’d switch to her own benefits and then on their 1st Anniversary she could switch back to spousal if greater than her own. Also remember if she claims prior to FRA that reduction stays in place.
But then the story took another turn.
What If Her Ex-Husband Dies?
Now we’re no longer talking about divorced-spouse benefits. We’re talking about divorced-survivor benefits—and the rules change.
Someone who was married to a former spouse for at least 10 years may qualify for survivor benefits beginning as early as age 60. Survivorship benefits are 100% of what the deceased spouse was receiving. Claiming before FRA generally means accepting a reduced benefit; waiting until survivor FRA can provide the maximum survivor amount.
And here’s the rule that surprises many people:
Remarrying after age 60 does not eliminate your potential survivor benefit from a deceased former spouse. But remarrying prior to age 60 eliminates that option, unless she is disabled and over 50.
Think about what that means. Depending upon the numbers, our newly married retiree could potentially have benefits associated with three different earnings records:
- Her own.
- Her current husband’s.
- Her deceased ex-husband’s.
She doesn’t simply add all three together. Instead, we have to determine which benefits she’s eligible for, when she’s eligible for them, and which claiming sequence produces the best result.
Confused yet? That’s precisely the point.
A Few Rules Worth Remembering
- If you’re widowed or divorced and considering remarriage, age 60 can be an extremely important birthday. Remarriage before 60 can generally prevent survivor benefits from a deceased former spouse. Remarriage after 60 generally does not. Romantic? No. Financially important? Absolutely.
- Claiming early can reduce your benefit. Retirement, spousal and survivor benefits each have rules governing early claiming, and survivor FRA isn’t necessarily identical to your retirement FRA.
- Still working? There’s another wrinkle. If you’re below FRA throughout 2026, Social Security withholds $1 of benefits for every $2 you earn above $24,480. Different rules apply during the year you reach FRA, and once you reach FRA the earnings test disappears.
- Don’t assume someone is going to knock on your door. Marriage, divorce, death and remarriage can create benefit opportunities that require you to contact Social Security and provide the necessary information and documentation.
- Survivor benefits can create an especially valuable planning opportunity. Unlike ordinary spousal benefits, survivor benefits aren’t subject to the same deemed-filing rule. In the right circumstances, you can claim a survivor benefit while allowing your own retirement benefit to continue growing, then switch to your own benefit as late as age 70 if it becomes larger.
And that brings us back to the title:
I’m So Confused!
You should be. Social Security is filled with seemingly small decisions that can mean thousands—or potentially tens of thousands—of dollars over a lifetime. Divorce, remarriage, age, employment, an ex-spouse’s death and the timing of each can completely change the answer.
Several years ago, I had a client who decided to get married after living together for 20 years. I asked what made them decide to marry? The answer was he was diagnosed with cancer and didn’t have that much time to live! He died several months later, but since they were not married for 12 months, she was unable to claim survivorship benefits! COSTLY ERROR!
That’s why after 50 years in the retirement business, I’m still consulting. Sometimes my job isn’t to give someone an answer. It’s to help them ask the questions they didn’t know they needed to ask.
And interestingly, that’s one of the ideas behind my upcoming book, Freedom of Choice. We spend much of life celebrating our freedom to choose. But choices have consequences, and freedom without understanding can become an expensive proposition.
Social Security is simply one example. Before making an important decision, slow down. Understand where you are. Understand the choices in front of you. And then choose deliberately. Sometimes you have to peel back the onion before you can see what’s really there.
Have a great month!
David P. Zander
CFP Emeritus Board ™
dzander@back9pro.com
260-615-0078
