Can my ex-wife claim Social Security spousal benefits after 7-year marriage?
I divorced about 5 years ago after a 7-year marriage. My former spouse never worked much during our marriage and I'm wondering if she's entitled to claim any Social Security spousal benefits based on my work record when we both reach retirement age. Does anyone know if there's a minimum marriage length requirement? I'm 52 now and not planning to retire for at least 10 more years, but just trying to understand how this all works. I've heard different things from friends - some say 10 years minimum, others say any marriage counts. Really confused about what's accurate!
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Giovanni Mancini
For your ex-wife to qualify for spousal benefits on your work record, your marriage needed to last at least 10 years before the divorce was finalized. Since you were only married for 7 years, she won't be eligible for benefits based on your earnings. This is a firm rule with Social Security - the 10-year duration is non-negotiable for ex-spouse benefits.
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Amara Nnamani
•Thank you! That clears things up. So there's no way she could claim anything based on our 7-year marriage? Just making sure there are no exceptions I should know about.
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NebulaNinja
Absolutely correct - the 10-year marriage duration rule is one of the few black-and-white rules with Social Security. At 7 years, your ex has no claim to benefits on your record. She'll need to qualify based on her own work history or through another marriage that lasted 10+ years. The only people who can claim on less than 10 years are current spouses (still married) or surviving spouses/ex-spouses (if you passed away and they didn't remarry before age 60).
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
•My brother told me his ex got benefits after only 8 years together because they had a child??? Is that different somehow
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NebulaNinja
The rules for divorced spouses claiming on their ex's record are actually very clear-cut: 1. Marriage must have lasted AT LEAST 10 years 2. Claimant must be unmarried currently 3. Claimant must be at least 62 4. The benefit from their ex's record must be higher than their own Since your marriage only lasted 7 years, your ex-wife cannot claim spousal benefits on your record. No exceptions to the 10-year rule for divorced spouse benefits.
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Dylan Mitchell
•Not just 10 years but TEN FULL YEARS to the day! My divorce was finalized 3 weeks shy of our 10-year anniversary and SSA denied my claim based on my ex's record. Talk about a costly mistake!!! Make sure ppl know its not just "about" 10 years.
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Sofia Morales
I went thru this exact scenario with my ex. We were married 8 years and she tried to claim on my record. SSA turned her down flat because we didn't make it to 10 years. Your ex will have to rely on her own work record or maybe she remarried?
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Dmitry Popov
•This is a common misunderstanding I see as a benefits counselor. There's often confusion about the 10-year rule. To clarify for everyone: having children together does NOT change the 10-year requirement for divorced spouse benefits. However, if there are children under 16 (or disabled) from the marriage, a current spouse caring for them can claim spousal benefits at any age while still married. But for divorced spouses, it's still a firm 10-year minimum regardless of children.
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Ava Garcia
Im in a similar boat. married 11 years and my ex keeps demanding more alimony saying she'll get my SS anyway. Had to look this all up. For divorced spouses, they can get 50% of your FRA benefit amount once they reach retirement age, but ONLY if the marriage was 10+ years. You're safe from that at least.
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Amara Nnamani
•That's good to know, thanks. So if we had stayed married for 3 more years, she could potentially get up to 50% of my benefit amount. Does that reduce what I would receive? Or is it separate?
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Dmitry Popov
An important clarification: if your ex-wife did qualify (which she doesn't with a 7-year marriage), her benefits would have NO impact on your own benefit amount. This is a common misconception. When someone claims on an ex-spouse's record, the ex-spouse (you) is not affected at all - your benefits remain unchanged, and you don't even get notified when someone claims on your record. But again, with a 7-year marriage, this is moot as she doesn't qualify.
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Amara Nnamani
•That's a relief to understand. I wasn't worried about her getting benefits necessarily, but I didn't want my own retirement to be reduced. Appreciate everyone's clear explanations!
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
My sister got divorced at 9 years and her lawyer told her to drag out the divorce proceedings until they hit the 10 year mark just so she could qualify for SS benefits later... sounds kinda shady but apparently its a real strategy some people use
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Dylan Mitchell
•YES - this is EXACTLY what my divorce attorney suggested but I didn't listen and regretted it later. Once I realized what I'd given up by not waiting those extra few weeks... just painful. The system is so rigid about that 10 year cutoff!
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Sofia Morales
Been trying to call SSA for weeks to get some questions answered about my own divorce situation (15 yrs married) but IMPOSSIBLE to get through! On hold for 3+ hours then disconnected TWICE. Anyone know how to actually talk to a human at Social Security??
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NebulaNinja
•I've had good luck using Claimyr to get through to SSA without the endless hold times. It's a service that navigates the phone system for you and calls you back when an actual agent is on the line. Saved me hours of frustration. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU and you can find it at claimyr.com. Worth it when you need to resolve complex issues like divorce-related benefits that can't be handled online.
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Dmitry Popov
To summarize for anyone else with similar questions: 1. For DIVORCED spouses: 10+ years of marriage is required to claim on ex's record 2. For CURRENT spouses: No minimum marriage length to claim spousal benefits 3. For SURVIVING spouses (if ex passed away): Only 9 months of marriage generally required The 7-year marriage in this case doesn't meet the requirement for divorced spouse benefits. Your ex-wife will need to qualify for Social Security based on her own work record or through another marriage.
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Giovanni Mancini
•Great summary. Also worth noting that if the original poster's ex-wife doesn't have enough work credits on her own record, she might qualify for SSI (Supplemental Security Income) at age 65+, which is needs-based rather than work-based. But that's entirely separate from claiming benefits on an ex-spouse's record.
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