What a Divorced Woman Needs to Know About Social Security

Tom Margenau discusses details of social security benefits for divorced women. (pikselstock/Shutterstock)

My wife and I are celebrating our 49th wedding anniversary this week. (Although at our age, “celebrating” means maybe an extra scoop of ice cream on our next trip to Dairy Queen!)

I know we are fortunate to be reaching almost five decades of wedded bliss because I get a lot of questions from divorced women who want to know what kind of benefits they might be due on an ex-husband’s Social Security record. So I thought I'd use today’s column to address the issues faced by divorced couples—primarily divorced women.

Some may ask: “What about divorced men?” Well, I’m addressing this column to women because 95 percent of the time, it is a woman who is eligible for benefits from an ex-husband’s record. But if you are a man who was in one of those less-common marriages where your wife made more money than you did, and had a longer working career than you did, and therefore gets a bigger Social Security check than you do, then simply reverse genders as you read this. Divorced men who were dependent on their wives are due the very same benefits as divorced women.

To be truthful, I really could simply call this column a married or divorced woman’s guide to Social Security because with just a couple of exceptions, a divorced woman is due the same kind of Social Security benefits as a married woman.

So what kind of benefits are we talking about? Well, first of all, there would be her own Social Security retirement benefits. And she would be due those benefits whether she is single, married, or divorced. Her marital status means nothing when it comes to her own benefits.

But let’s go over the rules that apply specifically to divorced women. The law says if she was married to a guy for at least 10 years, she is potentially due benefits on his Social Security account. If she has several ex-husbands, she doesn’t get benefits from all of them. She will only get spousal benefits on the record of the guy with the highest benefit rate.

And just as with a married woman, a divorced woman will always be paid her own Social Security benefit first. Only after she is getting whatever she is due on her own account will they look to her ex-husband’s record to see if she can get any additional spousal benefits from him. And because the spousal rate is between about 33 percent and 50 percent, there is usually a pretty good chance that her own benefit exceeds any of these smaller percentage benefits she might be due as a divorced spouse. At least while her ex is alive, that is. Once he dies, it’s a whole different story. More about that in a minute.

But first, I need to point out one important distinction between benefits paid to a divorced woman versus a married woman. A married woman cannot get any benefits on her husband’s account until he has signed up for Social Security himself. But a divorced woman has a bit of an advantage when it comes to that rule. The law says a divorcee can get benefits from her ex even if he isn’t getting anything himself. He has to be old enough to be eligible for benefits, which essentially means he has to be at least 62 years old. But again, he doesn’t have to be on Social Security’s books as a current beneficiary.

As I alluded to earlier, if a woman has worked any decent amount of time, it’s a pretty good bet that her own Social Security benefit will exceed anything she might be due on a living ex-husband’s record. But if he dies, then things change. If she is over her full retirement age when that happens, her own benefit can be supplemented up to 100 percent of the ex’s full benefit rate.

If the ex dies when she is under full retirement age (FRA), she could employ the same “widow’s option” that would be available for a currently married woman. That option lets her start benefits on one record and later switch to higher benefits on the other record. For example, assuming she is not working, a woman could take divorced widow’s benefits as early as age 60. She'd get about 71 percent of her ex’s full benefit rate. Then she could switch to 100 percent of her own Social Security benefit at FRA, or even wait until 70 and switch to about 130 percent of her own full retirement rate.

To further clarify the rules, I will answer a few questions from divorced women.

Q: My ex-husband recently died. I am 58. When can I claim divorced widow’s benefits, and how much can I get?

A: At your full retirement age, you could get 100 percent of your ex’s Social Security—less any benefits you are getting off your own account. The rate is reduced by roughly one-half of 1 percent for each month benefits are taken before then, down to about 71 percent at age 60. In rare cases, a disabled widow can get the 71 percent rate as early as age 50.

Q: I am 62 and thinking of signing up for Social Security. My husband, whom I’ve been married to for 22 years, is 60. But my first husband, to whom I was married for 15 years, is 68. Can I apply for benefits from his record?

A: No. As long as you are married to husband No. 2, you can’t get any Social Security from No. 1.

Q: My husband and I divorced many years ago. I have not remarried. I don’t know if he has. In fact, I don’t know anything about him except where he lives. Will Social Security notify me when he dies so that I can file for widow’s benefits on his record?

A: Probably not. There is simply no way the Social Security Administration can keep track of every person in this country and notify them when they might be eligible for any kind of Social Security benefit. And for years, I’ve been only half-jokingly telling divorced women in your situation this: Subscribe to the online version of the newspaper in the town where he lives—and check the obituaries every day!