The Surprising Reason Your Ex-Spouse Could Be Your Best Retirement Asset

If you're divorced, there's a long-term benefit hiding in plain sight that could put you on track for retirement, and most people don't know it exists. 

According to the Nationwide Retirement Institute's 2025 Social Security Survey, 50% of adults incorrectly believe divorced people cannot collect Social Security benefits based on an ex-spouse's earnings record. That lack of awareness is costing eligible retirees real money that's already theirs to claim.

Here's how the divorced spouse benefit works, who qualifies, and how much the benefit is.

Who qualifies for this benefit

To collect Social Security on an ex-spouse's record, you must meet all of the following conditions: the marriage lasted at least 10 years, you are at least 62 years old, you are currently unmarried, and you have been divorced for at least two years — unless your ex-spouse is already collecting Social Security retirement benefits, in which case the two-year waiting period doesn't apply.

If the benefit based on your own work history is larger than the divorced spouse benefit, Social Security pays you the higher of the two. But for lower earners — particularly those who spent years out of the workforce for caregiving — the divorced spouse benefit can be substantially more than what their own record would provide.

One point that trips people up: The rule about whether your ex has to be collecting does not apply to divorced spouses the way it applies to current spouses. A married spouse generally cannot claim on a partner's record until that partner is receiving benefits. Divorced spouses, by contrast, can file independently once the two-year waiting period has passed, even if the ex hasn't claimed yet.

How much is the benefit and what it doesn't affect

At full retirement age, a divorced spouse is entitled to up to 50% of the ex-spouse's primary insurance amount — the benefit they would receive at their own full retirement age. Claiming earlier than full retirement age reduces the divorced spouse benefit proportionally, just as it reduces your own benefit.

Here's what it does not do: It does not reduce your ex-spouse's benefit by a single dollar. The divorced spouse benefit is paid entirely from Social Security's general pool, not deducted from the ex-spouse's check. 

Your ex-spouse also will not be notified when you file. Their benefit, their privacy, and their retirement are entirely unaffected — even if they have remarried.

The key difference from your own benefit: Don't wait until 70

This is one of the most important and least understood features of the divorced spouse benefit. For your own Social Security retirement benefit, delaying past full retirement age pays off — credits accrue at roughly 8% per year up to age 70, making 70 the optimal claiming age for most workers. 

That logic does not apply to divorced spouse benefits. They do not grow by delaying past full retirement age. A person who waits until 70 to claim a divorced spouse benefit receives exactly the same amount as someone who claimed at 67.

Full retirement age — currently 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later — is the sweet spot for this benefit, and waiting longer gains nothing.

Survivor benefits become available if your ex is deceased

The divorced spouse benefit discussed so far applies when the ex-spouse is still alive. If your ex-spouse has died, a separate and often larger benefit becomes available: the divorced survivor benefit. 

An eligible divorced spouse can collect 100% of the deceased ex-spouse's benefit at full retirement age — double the 50% available during the ex's lifetime. Claiming at 60 rather than full retirement age reduces the benefit, with 71.5% being the floor for a claim made at the earliest eligible age.

The eligibility rules for survivor benefits are slightly different: the same 10-year marriage requirement applies, and you must be unmarried — unless you remarried at or after age 60, in which case you may still be eligible.

Why this matters most for women

The divorced spouse benefit disproportionately helps women, who are more likely to have taken time out of the workforce for caregiving, reducing their lifetime earnings and their own Social Security benefit. 

For a woman who spent 10 or more years married to a higher earner, this provision can represent a meaningful and permanent increase in monthly income. It was deliberately designed into the program to address exactly this kind of earnings gap — and half the population doesn't know it exists.

Bottom line

If you were married for at least 10 years and are now divorced, unmarried, and approaching retirement, checking your eligibility for a divorced spouse benefit should be part of your retirement plan. The benefit can be claimed at 62 (at a reduced rate) or at full retirement age for the maximum amount, and filing for it has no effect whatsoever on your ex-spouse's finances or privacy.

One practical step many people overlook: You can create a Social Security account at ssa.gov and review both your own projected benefit and, once eligible, confirm your divorced spouse benefit with the Social Security Administration directly. Knowing which benefit is larger is the kind of planning that could add tens of thousands of dollars in lifetime income.