Can You Get Social Security If Your Ex-Spouse Dies?
Yes, if you were married at least 10 years before the divorce. A surviving divorced spouse can get the same survivor benefit as a widow or widower: 71.5% of the late ex-spouse’s benefit at 60, rising to 100% at survivor full retirement age, or from 50 if you have a disability. You must be unmarried, or have remarried at 60 or later (50 or later with a disability). If you’re caring for your late ex’s child who is under 16 or disabled, you can get 75% at any age, and the 10-year rule doesn’t apply. Your benefit doesn’t reduce what the ex’s widow or children receive.
Who qualifies
The survivor rules for divorced spouses require:
- A marriage of at least 10 years immediately before the divorce became final.
- Age 60 or older, or 50 to 59 with a disability that began within seven years of the ex’s death.
- No remarriage before 60 (50 if you’re disabled), unless that later marriage has ended.
- A survivor benefit larger than your own retirement benefit, or you’ll simply keep your own.
It doesn’t matter whether your ex remarried, how long ago you divorced, or whether your ex’s widow is also collecting.
Raising your ex’s child
A surviving divorced parent caring for the late ex’s child under 16, or a disabled child, can get a mother’s or father’s benefit of 75% at any age. The 10-year marriage rule doesn’t apply here: you need to be the child’s parent, or to have adopted the child together while married. The benefit stops when the youngest child turns 16, unless the child is disabled, and you can switch to a surviving divorced spouse benefit at 60 if your marriage lasted 10 years.
Each child also gets 75% of the late parent’s benefit until 18, or 19 while in high school.
How much you get
The amount is figured the same way as for a current spouse who’s widowed:
| You start at | Share of your ex’s benefit |
|---|---|
| 60 | 71.5% |
| 62 | 79.6% |
| 64 | 87.8% |
| 67 (survivor full retirement age, born 1962 or later) | 100% |
| Any age, caring for the ex’s child under 16 | 75% |
Swipe sideways to see the full table →
If your ex claimed early, your benefit is limited to the larger of what your ex was receiving or 82.5% of your ex’s full benefit. If your ex delayed past full retirement age, the delayed credits pass to you. Divorced and current spouses get the same survivor benefit amounts.
Your benefit is paid outside the family maximum. It isn’t reduced because the ex’s widow or children are also collecting, and it doesn’t reduce theirs.
If you were already getting a divorced spouse benefit
If you were collecting a divorced spouse benefit on your ex’s record the month before the death and you’ve reached full retirement age, or you don’t get a retirement benefit of your own, Social Security switches you to the survivor benefit without a new application. In other cases you have to apply, and you should report the death as soon as you learn of it.
Don’t wait for a letter: Social Security may not know you qualify. If you learn your ex has died and you were married 10 years, call and ask; you’ll need your ex’s name and, if you have it, Social Security number or date of birth.
Your own benefit or the survivor benefit
If you also qualify for your own retirement benefit, you receive the higher of the two, not both. Deemed filing doesn’t apply to survivor benefits, so you can choose the order: take the reduced survivor benefit from 60 and switch to your own at 70 if yours will be larger, or take your own from 62 and switch to the full survivor benefit at survivor full retirement age.
How to apply
Survivor benefits can’t be applied for online. Call 1-800-772-1213 or contact your local office for a phone or in-person appointment. Have your marriage certificate and final divorce decree, your ex’s Social Security number if you know it, and proof of the death if you have it.
The $255 death payment isn’t available to a divorced spouse, even one married more than 10 years.