Call now
97% of Americans over the age of 60 receive social security benefits. These benefits often become the main source of income for people after they retire. In the context of divorce, spouses should find out if they are entitled to a percentage of his or her former spouse’s Social Security benefits.
Social Security benefits are pegged to one’s work record, specifically how much they paid into the Security program during their working lifetime. However, if your former spouse contributed substantially more money than you, then you may be entitled to more benefits based on your former spouse’s work record. The rules governing the Social Security program apply equally to both divorced spouses without considering their gender.
Social Security, which includes the Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) benefits, now includes spousal benefits and permits spouses to retain their derivative benefits after the death of a former spouse or a dissolution of marriage.
In order to be eligible to obtain benefits based on your ex-spouse’s Social Security work record, the following requirements must be met:
1) Your former spouse is entitled to Social Security Retirement Benefits
2) You are not currently married
3) The length of your marriage was 10 years or greater
4) You are at least 62 years of age
5) Your Social Security benefit entitlement based on your own work record is less than what you would receive based on your former spouse’s work record
If your former spouse is 62 or older and qualifies for Social Security benefits, but has not yet applied for those benefits, then you may be eligible to receive benefits based on his/her work record if you meet the requirements above and you have been divorced for 2 years or more.
Assuming you qualify for benefits based upon your ex-spouse’s record, generally speaking, you are entitled to the benefits under your own record or 50% of your former spouse’s benefits, whichever is greater. However, it should be noted that if you can claim benefits equivalent to 50% of your ex-spouses, it does not reduce the actual benefit received by your ex-spouse.