By Terry Savage
Tribune News Service
(TNS)
Many people are surprised to find out that other people can legally collect benefits on their Social Security work records. And it doesn’t diminish their own benefits.
For example, if you’re an ex-spouse, you can legally collect on your former spouse’s record if you meet certain conditions. And if you are a surviving spouse—a widow or widower—you are also eligible to collect but under a different set of requirements. If you don’t know these rules, you can leave tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in lifetime Social Security benefits on the table.
These rules were put in place years ago when Social Security was created, at a time when there was typically only a working man in the household. A major goal was keeping elderly single women (and dependent children) out of poverty—even if they never worked enough to earn their own Social Security retirement benefits.
Now, the rules apply equally to men and women who are divorced or survivors, if they meet the eligibility rules.
Social Security survivor benefits
These are people who are entitled to a survivor benefit:
- A surviving spouse aged 60 or older, or age 50-59 with a disability.
- A surviving spouse of any age who is caring for a child under aged 16 or was disabled before age 22.
- A former spouse, if married to the deceased for at least 10 years and unmarried (or remarried after age 60).
- Children who are unmarried and under 18, up to age 19 if full-time high school students, or of any age if disabled before age 22.
- Dependent parents aged 62 or older who relied on the deceased for half their support.
Surviving spouses can opt to collect their widow(er)’s benefit before their own retirement benefit or vice versa. That decision is complicated because taking a survivor benefit or a retirement benefit before your own full retirement age results in a benefit reduction. That reduction also applies if your deceased spouse claimed early retirement.
Consider these examples:
Jane, is a 60-year-old widow who had low covered earnings relative to her deceased spouse. Her best move may be to collect her own retirement benefit at age 62, even though it will be reduced by 30% due to early collection, and then take her higher survivor benefit at a later age when it reaches its maximum value. That will be at her full retirement age (67), if her deceased spouse didn’t collect his/her own retirement benefit early.
But if Jane was the high earner, her best move will likely be to start her survivor benefit at 60, even though it will be reduced by 28.5% due to early collection. She will then take her own retirement benefit at age 70 when it reaches its maximum value, which will be 76% higher than if she had started collecting it at age 62.
A surviving, qualifying ex-spouse has the same available survivor benefit—if the marriage lasted 10 years or more—with additional benefits, regardless of the length of the marriage, if they are caring for their ex’s natural or legally adopted child who is under age 16 or who is 16 or older but became disabled prior to age 22.
Social Security has six different survivor benefit formulas that are beyond complex, and depend on multiple factors. So don’t guess. A low-cost software tool, referenced below, can provide the precise answer.
Social Security divorced spousal benefits
An ex-spouse can collect a divorced spousal benefit based on their former spouse’s work record—if he or she meets certain criteria:
- Their marriage lasted 10 consecutive years or longer.
- They are unmarried.
- They are at least 62 years old.
- Their ex-spouse is eligible for (though not necessarily already collecting) Social Security retirement or disability benefits.
- They have been divorced for at least 2 years, or their ex-spouse has already started collecting his or her own retirement benefit.
There’s a lot more to this decision than just meeting those qualifications.
When you file for your divorcee spousal benefit, you’ll be forced to file for your own retirement benefit at the same time. You’ll get the larger of either HALF of your ex-spouse’s benefit OR your own full benefit. And a warning: if you take your divorcee spousal benefit before full retirement age, it will be reduced. If you start collecting at 62, your retirement benefit is reduced by 30% and your excess spousal benefit is reduced by 35%.
If at some future point your ex-spouse dies, you can collect a full divorcee survivor benefit.
Your ex-spouse cannot stop you from collecting these benefits, if you meet all the criteria. And your ex will not even know that you have filed to collect. But you will need his or her Social Security number to file this claim and determine your eligibility. Again, your payments do not reduce your ex’s benefit, or those of his/her current spouse.
Getting advice from overworked Social Security phone reps is iffy. I highly recommend a website created by economist (and my co-author of “Social Security Horror Stories”) Larry Kotlikoff. At www.MaximizeMySocialSecurity.com, for a one-time fee of $49, you can determine your maximum benefit and your best claiming strategy.
Not claiming Social Security benefits correctly is an expensive mistake. And that’s The Savage Truth.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Terry Savage is a registered investment adviser and the author of four best-selling books, including “The Savage Truth on Money.” Terry responds to questions on her blog at TerrySavage.com.
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©2026 Terry Savage. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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