Spousal benefits after divorce

Just because you’ve divorced, doesn’t mean you can’t still collect spousal benefits. To be eligible to receive an amount equal to one-half of your ex-spouse’s primary income amount (PIA), you have to meet the following criteria:

• Your ex-spouse is eligible for Social Security benefits.
• You were married for at least 10 years.
• You are unmarried now.
• You are at least 62 years old.
• Your own Social Security benefit is less than the benefit you would receive based on your ex-spouse’s PIA.

The good thing about spousal benefits via an ex-spouse is that it doesn’t affect your former spouse’s benefits nor any benefits their current spouse is entitled to if they’ve remarried. If you’ve been married more than once and each marriage lasted at least ten years, you will not receive multiple spousal benefits from each of your exes’ work but the largest benefit of the two (or three) marriages.

See also Divorcing in Retirement? Here Are 15 Ways To Safeguard Your Financial Future.