Divorced? Social Security Could Owe You up to $1,500 a Month Under This Surprising Rule

More than four in 10 Americans nearing retirement age don't know that divorcees can collect Social Security benefits based on an ex-spouse's earnings record, according to MassMutual's Social Security knowledge survey. This is a very expensive misconception, because millions of qualifying former spouses are likely leaving significant monthly income on the table.

The Divorced Spouse Benefit is a legal Social Security Administration (SSA) provision that lets qualifying individuals collect monthly payments based on their former partner's earnings history. If your ex-spouse qualifies for $3,000 a month in Social Security benefits, you may be eligible for up to $1,500.

Here's what you need to know to maximize your senior benefits.

Editor's note: Social Security benefit eligibility rules and payment figures come from the Social Security Administration.

The benefit pays up to 50% of your ex's full Social Security amount

The Divorced Spouse Benefit is worth up to half of your former spouse's primary insurance amount (PIA). This is the monthly figure that they are entitled to at full retirement age. 

If that figure is higher than your own retirement benefit, SSA pays the higher of the two. You can't collect both, unfortunately. If your own earned benefit is larger, that's what you receive instead.

Your marriage must have lasted at least 10 years

The SSA requires a minimum marriage length of 10 years for you to be eligible for divorced spouse benefits. Marriages that lasted less than 10 years, even by just a few days, don't qualify.

There are no exceptions to this rule. The gap since the divorce doesn't affect eligibility either. A qualifying marriage from 20 or 30 years ago still counts, and neither party's post-divorce work history changes the underlying entitlement.

You must be currently unmarried

You must be single at the time of application. Remarriage removes your eligibility unless that later marriage has since ended through death, divorce, or annulment. 

Your ex's current marital status, however, has no bearing on your claim. Plus, their new spouse's benefits are not affected, and the SSA does not notify your former spouse when you apply.

You must be at least 62, and your ex must be eligible for Social Security

The minimum age for claiming this benefit is 62 years old. Your former spouse must also be eligible for Social Security retirement or disability benefits, though they don't necessarily need to have started collecting yet. 

Even if your ex hasn't reached full retirement age or hasn't filed, you may still access this benefit under certain circumstances.

You shouldn't need to wait for your ex to start claiming

If your divorce was finalized more than two years ago, you don't have to wait for your ex to begin collecting before you apply. This is very helpful for divorced individuals whose former spouses are still working or delaying their own benefits.

However, if the divorce is less than two years old, you do have to wait for your ex to start claiming first. Unless two years since your divorce arrives sooner than your ex starts claiming.

Claiming before full retirement age permanently reduces what you receive

The 50% maximum applies only if you wait until full retirement age, which is 67 for most people claiming in 2026. Filing at 62 reduces the benefit to 32.5% of your ex's Social Security benefit amount, and that reduction is permanent.

Each month you delay between 62 and 67 adds a small amount to your final percentage, so the longer you can wait up to age 67, the larger the percentage of your ex's Social Security benefit you're entitled to, up to 50%.

If the GPO previously removed your benefit, that's no longer the case

The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law in January 2025, eliminated the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Before the repeal, divorced spouses who themselves received a pension from a government job not covered by Social Security saw their divorced spouse benefit reduced or eliminated.

Thankfully, for those retirees in that position, those reductions no longer apply. If you were previously denied or reduced due to the GPO, you may now qualify for a benefit or higher monthly amount, so it's definitely worth checking.

Divorced spouses previously denied may be owed retroactive payments

The Social Security Fairness Act is retroactive to January 2024, and affected beneficiaries began receiving back payments in February 2025. If you were denied a divorced spouse benefit due to the GPO and never reapplied, the SSA recommends contacting your local field office. 

Qualifying retroactive pay covers the period from January 2024 through your new benefit determination date.

Bottom line

If you were married for at least 10 years and are currently unmarried, checking your eligibility directly with the SSA is worth doing now as part of your retirement plan. The benefit doesn't arrive automatically. You have to apply for it, and many qualifying individuals never do, usually because they don't realize they may be entitled to it.

To start, visit the SSA's website or schedule an appointment at your local Social Security office. According to SSA data cited by AARP, women make up 95% of the roughly 641,000 people currently collecting divorced spousal Social Security benefits.

This reflects how often this provision applies to those who reduced paid work during marriage due to raising families and supporting the household. If a long marriage affected your own earnings history and your retirement income reflects that gap, this benefit exists to address exactly that situation.