Can an Ex-Spouse Come After Your Social Security Long After You've Divorced? Here's What You Can Expect.

Picture this: You're divorced and remarried to someone new. Out of the blue, a person you divorced 20 years earlier contacts you and announces that they've decided to claim Social Security divorced spouse benefits based on your work record. Should you be upset or worry about how a former spouse's claim will affect you or your current spouse? The answer is no.

Here's a look at what it takes for a former spouse to make a claim on your Social Security benefits, how the move will affect you, if it will alter your retirement plan in any way, and if it even matters at all.

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It may come as a surprise

Chances are, unless your ex tells you that they're planning to make a claim, you'll never know. That's because an eligible claim has no impact on your monthly Social Security benefit. It doesn't even matter how many times you've been married. Let's say you have three ex-spouses and were married to each person for at least 10 consecutive years. They might all make a Social Security divorced spouse's claim, and you may still never know unless one of them tells you.

It's unlikely the Social Security Administration will send a letter or otherwise notify you because an ex's decision to make a claim subtracts nothing from the benefits you've worked for. Unlike with a 401(k) plan or other assets you may be court-ordered to divide during divorce proceedings, you won't end up sharing your actual Social Security benefits.

Here's what it takes for an ex to make a claim

For an ex to claim Social Security benefits on your record, each of the following must be true:

• The marriage lasted at least 10 consecutive years.
• Both you and your ex are 62 or older.
• The ex-spouse is not currently married.
• You are entitled to Social Security retirement or disability benefits (although you don't have to be actively collecting them in some cases).
• The ex's own Social Security benefit is lower than what they can receive based on your work record.

And finally, there's a two-year rule. As long as you're old enough to be eligible for benefits, the two-year rule says that if you've been divorced for at least two continuous years, your ex can claim benefits based on your record, even if you haven't yet filed for your own benefits.

How much an ex can get

At most, a divorced spouse benefit based on a living ex's work record is 50% of your full retirement age benefit. It's not 50% of what you receive if you claim early or delay benefits.

What about a current spouse?

If you're currently married, your new partner is eligible to claim spousal benefits. While there's a 10-year rule for divorced spouses, you need to be married for only one continuous year for your new spouse to qualify.

As a final note, you can't block a qualified ex from claiming, and truly, there's no reason to. Their claim has nothing to do with yours.

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