Understanding Social Security Survivor Benefits After Divorce

Second Saturday Team

Finances

There are huge Social Security benefits you can receive if you were married to your spouse for at least ten years before divorce and were the lower-earning spouse. When you reach retirement age, you are eligible to receive benefits equivalent to 50% of your ex-spouse’s Social Security benefits if that amount is greater than what you would otherwise receive. This can be extremely helpful for any person who does not qualify for much Social Security because they stayed home to raise the kids or take care of the household during their working years.

What you may not realize is that your benefit could be even higher when your ex-spouse passes away. At that point, you may be eligible for something called “Survivor Benefits” which are the equivalent of 100% of your ex-partner’s Social Security benefits. Let’s see how this works and how you might be able to dramatically increase how much you receive in Social Security.

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