Even if you are divorced, you can still claim benefits from your former partner!
A lot of the spousal benefits when it comes to Social Security end up flying under the radar and being regarded as loopholes, yet one of the biggest loopholes is that you may be eligible to receive Social Security benefits based on your ex-spouse’s income and their work record; you will be able to qualify because you were married to someone that is going to receive these benefits, even if you are no longer married at the time when you will apply to receive these payments.
It works in quite simple ways, but the few caveats that come with this loophole may be why you have never heard of it before. The first one is that you have to have been married to your ex-partner for 10 years before you decided to go your separate ways. Other restrictions to keep in mind are that, besides this 10-year period of marriage, you should not have remarried afterward and that you are at least 62 years of age.
Otherwise, the benefit you will be entitled to receive will work just like any other spousal benefit: you will be able to receive as much as 50% of how much your partner will receive through Social Security benefits once you have reached full retirement age if your own benefits are not going to exceed that amount, in which case you will get the bigger sum.
Read more about how you can qualify for benefits even if you have never worked next!
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