Social Security After Divorce

Last reviewed: February 2026

If your marriage lasted at least 10 years, you may be eligible to collect Social Security benefits based on your ex-spouse's work record — even if they've remarried. This does not reduce your ex's benefits in any way, and the Social Security Administration will not notify them. Here's what you need to know.

The 10-year rule

To collect Social Security benefits based on your ex-spouse's work record, your marriage must have lasted at least 10 years. The Social Security Administration measures from the date of your marriage to the date your divorce decree was finalized — not the date you separated or filed. If your marriage falls even one day short of 10 years, you do not qualify.

If you are close to the 10-year mark and considering divorce, the timing of your final decree could have significant financial consequences. This is worth discussing with your attorney.

Divorced spouse benefits (while your ex is alive)

If your marriage lasted at least 10 years and you meet all the requirements, you can receive up to 50% of your ex-spouse's full retirement age benefit. To qualify, you must be at least 62 years old, currently unmarried, and your ex-spouse must be entitled to Social Security benefits. If your ex has not yet filed for benefits, you can still collect — but you must have been divorced for at least 2 years.

The 50% maximum applies only if you wait until your own full retirement age (67 for those born in 1960 or later) to claim. If you start collecting at 62, the benefit is permanently reduced to approximately 32.5% of your ex's full retirement age benefit. Unlike your own retirement benefit, waiting past your full retirement age does not increase the spousal benefit — there is no bonus for delaying (technically called "delayed retirement credits") when it comes to spousal benefits.

The Social Security Administration will pay you the higher of your own benefit or the spousal benefit — not both. If your own work record produces a larger benefit, you will receive your own.

Survivor benefits (if your ex dies)

If your ex-spouse dies and your marriage lasted at least 10 years, you may be eligible for survivor benefits — up to 100% of your ex's benefit, which is significantly more than the 50% cap on spousal benefits while they are alive. Survivor benefits can be claimed as early as age 60 (or age 50 if you are disabled), compared to age 62 for spousal benefits.

If your ex waited past their full retirement age to claim, their benefit would have grown with delayed retirement credits — and your survivor benefit would reflect that higher amount. At age 60, the survivor benefit is reduced to approximately 71.5% of the full amount, scaling up to 100% at your full retirement age for survivors.

One important difference: you can remarry after age 60 and still collect survivor benefits on your deceased ex's record. This is more flexible than the spousal benefit rules, which require you to be unmarried.

What happens if you remarry

If you remarry, you generally lose eligibility for divorced spouse benefits on your ex's record (the 50% benefit while they are alive). However, if your second marriage ends — by death, divorce, or annulment — you may regain eligibility. Your ex-spouse's remarriage has no effect on your eligibility whatsoever.

For survivor benefits, the rules are more lenient. If you remarry at age 60 or later, you can still collect survivor benefits on your deceased ex's record. If you remarry before age 60, you lose eligibility — but can regain it if that marriage also ends.

Working while collecting

If you start collecting Social Security benefits before your full retirement age and continue working, a rule called the earnings test may temporarily reduce your benefits. For 2026, if you are under full retirement age for the entire year, $1 is withheld for every $2 you earn above $24,480. In the year you reach full retirement age, $1 is withheld for every $3 above $65,160 (counting only earnings before the month you reach full retirement age).

These withheld benefits are not lost permanently. Once you reach full retirement age, the Social Security Administration recalculates your monthly benefit upward to credit you for the months that were withheld. Only earned income (wages and self-employment) counts — investment income, pensions, and other passive income do not.

The gap between when alimony ends and when Social Security kicks in can leave you with years of reduced income. DivorceSmart Pro maps your ex-spouse benefit timeline against your alimony end date to reveal income gaps before retirement.

Key things to know

Collecting on your ex's record does not reduce their benefit. It also does not affect their current spouse's benefits if they remarried. Multiple people can collect on the same worker's record — a current spouse and one or more ex-spouses — without reducing anyone else's benefit. The Social Security Administration will not notify your ex that you have claimed on their record.

For those born in 1954 or later, you cannot strategically choose just the spousal benefit. Under current rules ("deemed filing"), when you file for benefits, the Social Security Administration automatically pays you the higher of your own benefit or the spousal benefit. You cannot file a restricted application for spousal benefits only while letting your own benefit grow.