Accordingly, the Social Security Administration (SSA) briefly explained the effect of divorce into social security benefits in its official page and the same was summarized and simplified below:
When claiming, the agency requires a claimant to meet several standards before being eligible to collect from his of her former spouse’s social security benefits:
• Married or not, relationship should have lasted for at least 10 years.
• Claimant should be at the age of 62 and below.
• The spouse should be entitled for retirement or disability benefits.
• The benefit that one is entitled to receive based on his or her own work is less than the benefit he or she would receive based on the former spouse’s work.
On the other hand, if your spouse has not yet applied for a retirement benefit but could absolutely qualify for it, you have to be two-years divorced before you could avail of his social security benefits.
A divorce can only hurt social security benefit once a claimant remarries. Nevertheless, in an event wherein the recent marriage ended whether by death or annulment, the former spouse can still collect benefits on his or her ex-spouse’s record.
Hopefully, the above facts could help you understand social security benefits even more. Consequently, a Los Angeles disability lawyer hopes that he has provided the answers to your most frequently asked questions regarding divorce and social security benefits.
