Post-Divorce Planning for Social Security

■ One financial aspect of divorce that is often overlooked is the availability or sudden loss of Social Security benefits for a soon-to-be former spouse.

■ Before any effort is made to harvest Social Security benefits from an ex, the length-of-marriage requirement must be satisfied. The SSA requires a marriage to have lasted ten years or more.

■ Besides meeting the 10-year requirement, the eligibility criteria for a divorced claimant to collect benefits on the record of a living former spouse are as follows: be at least age 62, be unmarried, not be entitled to a retirement or disability benefit equal to or higher than 50% of the PIA of the former spouse, apply for the benefit, and the former spouse must be collecting retirement or disability benefits.*

*Oftentimes, the lower earning ex is unsure whether their former spouse has claimed. SSA provides a fallback opportunity for ex-spouses. Called "Independently entitled ex-spouse", it is defined as one who has been divorced for at least 2 years before the date of the application and whose former spouse is at least age 62 may claim benefits regardless of whether their ex has filed.

Keep in mind if filing early, age 62 up to prior attainment of full retirement age of 67 (for most today), then you will be getting a reduced benefit below the 50% of the PIA of the former spouse. To receive the full benefit amount of 50% of ex's PIA, you will need to delay filing to your full retirement age. There is no increase to the benefit for delayed filing beyond your full retirement age as there would be for benefits based on widow or personal earnings.

Finally, in the event of the death of the former spouse, the divorced partner is entitled to a benefit modification to the full benefit amount of the former spouse. This means that one that claimed at 50% of the former spouse's FIA will have their benefit increase to 100% after the death of the former spouse. Those that claimed early for a reduced benefit will also increase a proportional amount after the death of the ex-spouse.

These are just a few key points for consideration when planning retirement income for divorcees. Please consult a financial professional that is well versed in Social Security and its integration into your retirement income planning.

Please reach out to me with any questions or needed clarifications, always happy to assist!