A quiet tool

Ten years of marriage leaves a claim that never expires.

A divorced spouse can collect on a former spouse's record, up to half their benefit while they live and all of it after they die, without their knowledge and at no cost to them. Enter the facts and see whether you qualify and for how much.

20 CFR 404.331, 404.333, 404.336 · Last reviewed September 6, 2026 · Facts · The table · Methodology

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Your former spouse's monthly benefit at their full retirement age

From their Social Security statement, if you have it. If not, estimate it, since Social Security uses their actual record when you apply.

Your own monthly benefit at full retirement age

From your own Social Security statement. Enter 0 if you never worked enough to earn one.

Years the marriage lasted

It must have lasted 10 years or more.

Years since the divorce

Once the divorce is 2 years old, your former spouse does not need to have filed for benefits yet.

Are you married now?

NoYes

Has your former spouse died?

NoYes

Has your former spouse filed for their own benefit?

NoYes

Your former spouse's age now

Your year of birth

This sets your full retirement age, which is 67.

Age you would claim at

Your monthly benefit if you claim at 67

$1,500

This is your own $1,000 plus a $500 top-up from your former spouse's record. Half their full benefit is $1,500, which is more than your own, so you are paid the difference. Your former spouse is not told and loses nothing.

Half your former spouse's full benefit: $1,500; The most their record can pay you while they are alive, if you claim at your full retirement age
Survivor benefit if you claim at 60 after their death: $2,145; It rises to $3,000 if you wait until the full retirement age for survivors
Conditions you meet: All; Married ten years, unmarried now, 62 or older, and your former spouse has filed or is 62

The benefit on a former spouse's record works the same as a married spouse's. It is half their full benefit, and you receive only the part above your own. It is reduced if you claim early and never grows for waiting past your full retirement age. After their death it becomes the survivor benefit, which is their whole benefit and can start as early as 60 at a reduced amount. Nothing you receive reduces what they or their new spouse receive.

This follows the Social Security rules for divorced spouses and surviving divorced spouses, including the reductions for claiming early. It assumes whole-year claiming ages, today's dollars, and that your former spouse did not claim early. It leaves out the rule that makes you claim both benefits at once, the earnings test, the offset for a government pension, benefits for a disabled surviving divorced spouse from 50, and benefits for children. Educational, not advice.

This is a simplified model, not your actual tax return or plan. It only knows what you type in, leaves out rules that may apply to you, and cannot weigh the other facts and trade-offs a real decision depends on. Before you act, talk with a professional who knows your whole situation.

Built by Joshua Mangoubi, CFA, MBA. By using this tool you agree to the tool terms, which include that results vary with each use and over time. Cite this tool, or take a table or chart

How it counts. The conditions checked against the regulations, then the spousal benefit from the spousal engine (half the former spouse's full benefit as the excess over your own, reduced early) or the survivor benefit from the survivor engine (the whole benefit, reduced from 60).

What it assumes. Whole-year claiming, today's dollars, and a former spouse who did not claim early. Social Security decides on the records; the earnings test if you still work, and the offset for public pensions, are what an appointment adds.

Where we fit in. We integrate tax considerations into your investment strategy and collaborate with estate attorneys and CPAs to ensure your plan is coordinated. We are not a law firm or accounting firm, so we do not provide legal or tax advice. Everything in this material is for educational purposes, based on primary sources. Before taking any action, please consult the appropriate professionals to apply these ideas to your situation.

The facts, in one place.

Six quotable sentences on benefits on a former spouse's record.

A divorced spouse can collect on a former spouse's record if the marriage lasted at least 10 years, the claimant is unmarried and at least 62, and the former spouse is entitled to benefits, or is at least 62 and the divorce is at least 2 years old (20 CFR 404.331). The former spouse is not told and is not affected.
The benefit is the same as a married spouse's: up to half the former spouse's full benefit, reduced for claiming before your own full retirement age, never increased for waiting past it, and paid on top of your own only as the excess (404.333, 404.410(b)).
Example: a former spouse's full benefit of $3,000 and your own of $1,000, claimed at your full retirement age: $1,500 a month, your own $1,000 plus a $500 top-up.
If the former spouse dies, a surviving divorced spouse of a ten-year marriage has the same survivor benefit as a widow or widower: the former spouse's full benefit, reduced from 60 (404.336). Remarriage after 60 does not end it.
Remarriage before then ends the divorced spouse's benefit while the new marriage lasts; a later divorce or death restores it. Several former spouses can each collect on the same record without reducing one another or the worker.
Claiming on a former spouse's record is treated as claiming your own benefit too, so the timing rules of the spousal tool apply: no reward for waiting past full retirement age on the spousal part, and a reduction for claiming early on both.

The conditions.

What has to be true, and what the benefit is.

Entitlement on a former spouse's record, living and deceased (20 CFR 404.331, 404.333, 404.336, 404.410)
Condition	Former spouse living	Former spouse deceased
Marriage lasted	10 years or more	10 years or more
Your marital status	Unmarried	Unmarried, or remarried after 60
Your age	62 or older	60 or older (50 if disabled)
The former spouse	Entitled to benefits, or 62 and the divorce 2+ years old	Deceased and insured
The benefit	Up to 50% of their full benefit, reduced before your full retirement age	Up to 100% of their benefit, reduced from 60 to survivor full retirement age
Effect on the former spouse or a new spouse	None	None

How the benefit works.

A marriage of ten years or more leaves a permanent claim on the former spouse's Social Security record. While the former spouse lives, the divorced spouse can collect the same benefit a married spouse could, up to half the former spouse's full benefit paid as the excess over their own, once they are 62 and unmarried, and once the former spouse is entitled to benefits or is 62 with the divorce at least two years old. The former spouse is not consulted, is not told, and loses nothing; a new spouse loses nothing either.

When the former spouse dies, the claim becomes a survivor's: the whole of the former spouse's benefit, reduced from 60, and remarriage after 60 does not end it. The calculator checks the conditions, computes the living-spouse benefit with the spousal engine already on this site, and the survivor benefit with the survivor engine.

Methodology.

Inputs. The marriage's length, whether you are married now, the divorce's age, whether the former spouse has filed and their age, both full benefits, your year of birth, your claiming age, and whether the former spouse has died.
Eligibility. Ten years of marriage (20 CFR 404.331(a)), unmarried (c), 62 or older (d), and the former spouse entitled or 62 with a two-year-old divorce (f); for a survivor, ten years and 60 or older (404.336).
The benefit. Half the former spouse's primary insurance amount less your own, reduced by the spousal schedule, plus your own reduced or credited (404.333, 404.410); or the survivor benefit, the former spouse's primary insurance amount reduced from 60 (404.410(c)).
Validation. An eligible divorced spouse at full retirement age, a nine-year marriage, a one-year-old divorce with and without the former spouse having filed, and a surviving divorced spouse at 60. A transcription error fails the build.
Not modeled. Deemed filing's timing, the earnings test, the government pension offset, a disabled surviving divorced spouse at 50, children's benefits, and a former spouse who claimed early (the widow's limit). Educational, not advice.

Sources.

1. Code of Federal Regulations (Cornell LII), 20 CFR § 404.331 and § 404.336 — Divorced spouse's and surviving divorced spouse's benefits. That a divorced spouse is entitled on the former spouse's record if the marriage lasted at least ten years, the claimant is unmarried and at least 62, and the former spouse is entitled to benefits, or is at least 62 and the divorce is at least two years old (404.331); and that a surviving divorced spouse of a ten-year marriage has the same benefit as a widow or widower (404.336). Retrieved September 6, 2026; verified September 6, 2026.
2. Code of Federal Regulations (Cornell LII), 20 CFR § 404.333 — Wife's and husband's benefit amounts. That a spouse's monthly benefit is one-half of the insured person's primary insurance amount before any reduction for age. Retrieved September 6, 2026; verified September 6, 2026.
3. Code of Federal Regulations (Cornell LII), 20 CFR § 404.338 — Widow's and widower's benefits amounts. That a survivor's benefit is the deceased's primary insurance amount at full retirement age, and that if the deceased had taken a reduced retirement benefit the survivor's benefit is limited to the larger of that reduced amount or 82.5 percent of the primary insurance amount (paragraph (c)). Retrieved September 6, 2026; verified September 6, 2026.
4. Code of Federal Regulations (Cornell LII), 20 CFR § 404.409 — What is full retirement age?. The full-retirement-age table by year of birth for retirement benefits (66 for 1943–1954, rising two months a year through 1959, 67 for 1960 and later), paragraph (a); and for widow's and widower's benefits, two birth years behind it (66 for 1945–1956, 67 for 1962 and later), paragraph (b). Retrieved September 4, 2026; verified September 4, 2026.
5. Code of Federal Regulations (Cornell LII), 20 CFR § 404.410 — How does SSA reduce my old-age benefits when my entitlement begins before full retirement age?. The early-claiming reduction: 5/9 of one percent for each of the first 36 months before full retirement age and 5/12 of one percent for each month beyond 36. Retrieved September 4, 2026; verified September 4, 2026.
6. Code of Federal Regulations (Cornell LII), 20 CFR § 404.313 — What are delayed retirement credits and how do they increase my old-age benefit amount?. The delayed retirement credit of 2/3 of one percent for each month of delay past full retirement age for those born in 1943 or later, accruing until the month age 70 is reached. Retrieved September 4, 2026; verified September 4, 2026.

Revision history.

This tool reads the Social Security record; its history is below.

September 6, 2026: Added the spousal benefit fraction (404.333) and its reduction (404.410(b)) for the spousal benefit tool.
September 6, 2026: Added the survivor full-retirement-age table (404.409(b)), the 28.5 percent survivor reduction from age 60 (404.410(c)), and the widow's limit (404.338(c)) for the survivor benefit timing tool.
September 4, 2026: First release: the full-retirement-age table, the early reduction fractions, and the delayed retirement credit transcribed from 20 CFR 404.409, 404.410, and 404.313, with the claiming calculator built on them.

Canonical address: https://consideratecapital.com/tools/social-security-after-divorce

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