Can I claim Social Security benefits from my first ex-husband after a brief second marriage?
I'm trying to figure out my Social Security options as I approach retirement. I'm 61 now and thinking about retiring at either 62 or 63. My work history is okay but not great (lots of part-time years). Here's my situation: I was married to my first husband for almost 18 years before we divorced in the early 2000s. He's always had good income as an engineer. After that, I remarried briefly (about 2 years) in my late 30s, but that ended in divorce too. I've been single ever since. My question is: can I still claim ex-spouse benefits based on my first husband's earnings record even though I had that short second marriage? The second ex makes way less than the first, so there's no benefit there. I've heard conflicting things about whether the second marriage disqualifies me from claiming on my first ex's record, even though we were married well over 10 years. Anyone know the rules on this?
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Kolton Murphy
Yes, you CAN claim on your first ex-husband's record! The second marriage doesn't matter because it ended. Social Security's rule is that you need to be currently unmarried to claim ex-spouse benefits. As long as you were married to your first husband for at least 10 years (which you were at 18 years), you're eligible. Your brief second marriage would only have prevented you from claiming on your first ex if that second marriage was still ongoing. I had almost the exact situation and was able to claim on my first husband's record even though I had a second marriage that lasted 4 years. The SSA representative confirmed this when I called them. One thing to keep in mind - if you claim at 62 instead of waiting until your Full Retirement Age (probably 67 for you), you'll get a reduced benefit - about 30% less than if you waited. But you can still absolutely claim on your first ex's record!
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Jackson Carter
•Oh that's SUCH a relief! Thank you! I was worried that second marriage might have messed everything up. Do you know if I need to contact my first ex to let him know I'm claiming on his record? We haven't spoken in years and I'd rather not have to reach out if possible.
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Evelyn Rivera
your wrong about this! my sister tried to do this exact thing and SSA told her the second marrige cancels out her ability to claim on first husband. She had to take her own benefit even tho it was way less. I think u need to double check this info
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Julia Hall
•Actually, this is a common misconception. As long as the second marriage ended (through divorce or death), you CAN claim on a first ex-spouse's record if that marriage lasted at least 10 years. Your sister's situation might have been different - was she still married to her second husband when she applied? Or was the first marriage less than 10 years? Those would be disqualifying factors. The exact rule from SSA is that you must be unmarried CURRENTLY to claim on any ex-spouse's record, and the marriage to that ex-spouse must have lasted at least 10 years. Previous marriages that have ended don't impact eligibility.
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Arjun Patel
Just wanted to add that when you claim on an ex-spouse's record, they DON'T get notified. They won't know, and it doesn't affect their benefits at all. So no awkward conversations necessary! I was worried about the same thing.
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Jackson Carter
•That's great news! The last thing I want is to have to contact him after all these years. Do you know if I need to provide my divorce decree when I apply?
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Jade Lopez
I'm in almost the exact situation - married 15 years to first husband, then a 3-year marriage in my 40s. When I went to claim, they made me prove BOTH marriages and BOTH divorces. Make sure you have ALL your marriage certificates and divorce decrees ready because they're sticklers about this!! It was such a hassle because my second divorce papers were in storage in another state. Getting through to anyone at SSA to explain was IMPOSSIBLE - I spent HOURS on hold and got disconnected 4 times!!!! So frustrating!!!
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Tony Brooks
•I had a similar experience trying to get through to SSA about my ex-spouse benefits. After multiple disconnected calls, I found a service called Claimyr that got me through to a real person at SSA in about 20 minutes. Saved me hours of frustration. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows how it works. It was honestly worth it just to get my questions answered without spending all day on the phone.
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Ella rollingthunder87
Another thing to think about - have you checked what your own benefit would be? Sometimes people assume the ex-spouse benefit will be higher, but depending on your work history, your own benefit might actually be better. SSA will pay whichever is higher, but not both.
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Jackson Carter
•That's a good point. I haven't created a my Social Security account yet to check my own benefit estimate. I should probably do that first before making any decisions.
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Julia Hall
Social Security specialist here. Just to clarify the ex-spouse benefit rules: 1. Your marriage to the ex must have lasted at least 10 years (yours was 18, so you're good) 2. You must be currently unmarried (you are) 3. You must be at least 62 (you're planning to claim at 62 or 63) 4. Your ex must be entitled to benefits (assuming he's at least 62) If you claim before your Full Retirement Age (FRA), your spousal benefit will be permanently reduced. At 62, you'd get approximately 32.5% less than if you waited until your FRA. Also important: If you're eligible for your own retirement benefits and for benefits as an ex-spouse, SSA will pay your own benefit first. If your benefit as an ex-spouse is higher, you'll get a combination of benefits equal to the higher amount. I recommend creating a my Social Security account at ssa.gov to check your own benefit estimate before making any decisions.
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Jackson Carter
•Thank you for the detailed explanation! One more question - if my ex hasn't filed for his benefits yet (he's still working at 62), can I still claim on his record or do I have to wait until he files?
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Julia Hall
That's a great question. If you've been divorced for at least two years (which you have), you can claim benefits on your ex-spouse's record even if he hasn't filed for his own benefits yet. This is called the "independently entitled divorced spouse" provision and it's a special rule that only applies to divorced spouses, not current spouses. So yes, you can claim on his record regardless of whether he's filed or not, as long as he's eligible for benefits (meaning he's at least 62, even if he hasn't applied yet).
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Jackson Carter
•That's fantastic news! You've been incredibly helpful. I'm going to check my own benefit amount and then make an appointment with SSA to discuss all this before I make my final decision. Thank you!
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Arjun Patel
i didnt know about that 2 year divorce rule! that woulda been good to know when i applied last year lol. my ex is younger than me and hasn't filed yet, i thought i had to wait for him to file first so i just took my own benefit. now i'm wondering if i should have checked on his...
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Julia Hall
•You might want to contact SSA to see if you can still switch to a divorced spouse benefit if it would be higher. In some cases, they can adjust your benefits going forward, though they typically won't provide many months of retroactive benefits. It's definitely worth checking!
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Kolton Murphy
Don't forget about the earnings test if you claim before your Full Retirement Age! If you're still working and earn above certain limits ($21,240 in 2025), they'll withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above that limit. Just something to consider if you're planning to work part-time after claiming.
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Jackson Carter
•That's important to know - I was planning to work part-time for a while. I'll need to calculate if that makes it worth waiting until my full retirement age before claiming.
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