Social Security on your ex-husband’s record
Key numbers
- If your marriage lasted at least 10 years, you may qualify from age 62 for up to 50% of your ex-husband’s full-retirement-age benefit; it is the higher-of comparison, not an extra 50% on top of your own (source: SSA).
- Claiming at 62 instead of 67 cuts the spousal portion to 32.5% of his benefit amount (source: SSA actuarial tables).
- Your claim never reduces his benefit or his current wife’s. You do not need his permission, and Social Security does not routinely tell him.
- Divorced at least 2 years? He does not need to have applied yet (source: SSA POMS RS 00202.005).
This is the question almost nobody answers with a number: what would I actually get? The government’s own calculator needs his benefit figure, which most women don’t have. This estimator works from what you do know, even if that is just his typical income.
Count from the wedding to the day the divorce was final. Ten years is the line that matters.
How the benefit works, in plain English
Social Security keeps a record of your work and his work. After a divorce, if the marriage lasted at least 10 years, you keep a claim on his record. At your full retirement age (67 for everyone born in 1960 or later), the ex-spouse benefit is worth up to half of his full benefit amount.
You always receive your own benefit first. If half of his benefit is more than your own, Social Security adds the difference on top. That is why the calculator shows two pieces: your benefit, and the top-up from his record.
Three real-shaped examples
All three women were married more than 10 years and have not remarried. Numbers are monthly estimates in today’s dollars, produced by the same formula the calculator above uses.
Maya, 58: stayed home, ex earned about $60,000
Maya raised the kids and rarely worked for pay. On her own record she has close to nothing. On her ex’s record she gets $1,173 a month at 67, or $762 if she claims at 62. Waiting past 67 would add nothing, because the spousal portion stops growing at full retirement age.
Dana, 55: worked part-time at about $25,000, ex earned about $110,000
Dana’s own benefit at 67 is about $1,413. Half of her ex’s benefit is more than that, so she gets a top-up of about $306, for a total of $1,719 a month at 67. Her years at home did not erase her claim: the top-up brings her to exactly half of his full benefit.
Priya, 52: earned about $90,000, ex earned about $200,000
Priya’s own benefit at 67 is about $3,146, which is more than half of her ex’s. Her total is $3,146 at 67, all from her own record, and it grows to $3,901 if she waits until 70. For her, the divorce changes nothing about Social Security, and knowing that is worth something too.
The five rules that decide everything
- The 10-year line. The marriage must have lasted at least 10 years before the divorce became final (SSA). If your divorce is not final and you are near 10 years, do not let the decree land at 9 years and 11 months.
- You must be unmarried. Remarrying generally ends benefits on his record while the new marriage lasts (SSA POMS).
- Age 62 is the earliest, and claiming early reduces the benefit permanently: at 62 the spousal portion is 32.5% of his benefit instead of 50% (SSA).
- The two-year rule. If he has not applied yet, you can still claim once you have been divorced two continuous years, as long as he is 62 or older and has worked enough to have earned his benefit (SSA POMS RS 00202.005).
- Own benefit first. Social Security pays your benefit, then tops it up if half of his is larger (SSA).
The claiming-age decision
One insight matters more than any other here: the two parts of your benefit grow differently. Your own portion grows 24% if you wait from 67 to 70. The ex-spouse top-up does not grow at all after 67. So if most of your money comes from his record, waiting past 67 buys you almost nothing, and if most comes from your record, waiting can be valuable. The calculator shows both parts separately so you can see which kind you are.
Two cautions with the timing. First, there is no taking his portion now and switching to your own later: for everyone born January 2, 1954 or later, filing for one benefit counts as filing for both (survivor benefits are the exception, as noted below). Second, claiming before 67 shrinks both parts, each on its own schedule, so an early check can be smaller than simply taking the larger of the two full-age numbers. The calculator applies both reductions for you.
Frequently asked questions
Will claiming on my ex-husband’s record reduce his benefit?
No. Benefits paid to a divorced spouse never reduce the worker’s own benefit or a current spouse’s benefit. You do not need his permission, and Social Security does not routinely notify him.
What if my ex has not applied for Social Security yet?
You can still qualify on his record if you have been divorced for at least two continuous years, he is at least 62, and you meet the other rules. This is called independent entitlement.
We were married 9 years and 11 months. Do I qualify?
No. The marriage must have lasted at least 10 years before the divorce became final. If your divorce is not final yet and you are close to the 10-year mark, the timing of the final decree matters.
What happens if I remarry?
While your ex is living, remarriage generally ends benefits on his record for as long as the new marriage lasts. Your benefit from your own work is never affected by remarriage. Survivor rules differ: remarrying at 60 or later generally does not prevent survivor benefits on a deceased ex’s record.
Is there an SSA or AARP calculator for divorced-spouse benefits?
Not a complete one. AARP’s Social Security calculator states on its own page that it does not compute divorced-spouse benefits. SSA’s spousal tool requires your ex’s benefit figure, which most divorced women do not have. That gap is why this estimator exists: it works from his typical income instead.
What if my ex dies?
Different rules apply when an ex has died. A surviving divorced spouse can receive between roughly 71.5% and 100% of the worker’s benefit: about 71.5% if started at 60, rising to 100% at her survivor full retirement age (a slightly different schedule than the one on this page). Survivors can also sometimes take one benefit first and switch to the other later, which ordinary divorced-spouse claims cannot do. If this is your situation, contact Social Security directly.
Sources: SSA, Who can get family benefits · SSA FAQ KA-01999 · SSA FAQ KA-02011 · SSA, Benefits for spouses · SSA POMS RS 00202.005 · SSA, 2026 benefit formula · SSA, survivor benefit amounts. All fetched and checked September 2026.
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