Social Security benefits for divorced spouses

Wisconsin residents may be aware that the Social Security Administration has rules in place that allow divorced spouses to receive retirement benefits based on the earnings histories of their former husbands or wives. These provisions are designed to prevent divorced spouses who have made sacrifices such as staying at home to raise a family being disadvantaged during their golden years. However, only divorced spouses who were married for 10 years or longer and who have not remarried qualify for these benefits.

While the Social Security Administration takes partial years into consideration when determining if a marriage qualifies, it will not allow separate periods of marriage to be combined in order to meet the 10-year requirement. This means that spouses who divorced before their tenth wedding anniversary will not qualify for divorced spouse retirement benefits even if they subsequently remarry their former spouses. Only consecutive years of marriage are counted by the SSA.

Additionally, only divorced spouses who have not remarried qualify for divorced spouse benefits, and both spouses must be 62 years of age or older. An exemption to the 10-year requirement is made for divorced spouses of deceased individuals. Surviving divorced spouses qualify for benefits in the same way as widows or widowers, and they receive all of the benefits that would otherwise have gone to the decedent rather than the 50 percent that divorced spouses may receive.

There are also rules regarding how long spouses must be divorced before they qualify for these benefits, and the maximum amount of benefits available are only paid to claimants who have reached the applicable full retirement age. Experienced family law attorneys who are familiar with these requirements can also point out other retirement considerations for divorcing spouses such as changing the beneficiary designations on individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans.