Can my remarried ex-wife claim Social Security benefits on my record even though I'm already drawing?
I started collecting my Social Security retirement benefits last year when I reached my full retirement age (66 years and 10 months). My current wife receives a spousal benefit that's reduced because she opted to claim before reaching her FRA. The arrangement works well for our situation despite the reduction. My question is about my former spouse. We were married for 19 years before divorcing, and she has since remarried. She's currently 55 years old. I'm wondering if she has any potential claims to my Social Security benefits, either now or in the future? Does her remarriage completely eliminate any possibility of her claiming on my record? Or could she potentially make a claim when she reaches retirement age? Appreciate any insights from those who understand ex-spouse benefit rules!
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Kendrick Webb
Your ex-wife cannot claim any benefits on your record since she remarried. If she had remained single, she could have claimed ex-spouse benefits at her retirement age (as long as you were married for at least 10 years, which you were). But remarriage generally terminates any right to claim benefits on an ex-spouse's record. The only exception would be if her second marriage also ended (either by divorce, annulment, or death). In that case, she could potentially claim on either your record or her second spouse's record (assuming that marriage also lasted at least 10 years). So as things currently stand with her being remarried, she has no claim to your benefits.
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Norman Fraser
•Thank you for the clear explanation! That's what I suspected but wanted to make sure. So basically since she remarried, she'll either claim on her own work record or as a spouse on her current husband's record when she reaches retirement age?
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Kendrick Webb
Exactly right. When she reaches retirement age, she'll be eligible for benefits based on either her own work record or as a spouse on her current husband's record (receiving up to 50% of his PIA if that's more beneficial than her own benefit). One thing I should mention - if your ex-wife's current marriage were to end, there's a specific rule: if she's unmarried at the time she applies for benefits, she could then claim on your record (assuming that would be more advantageous than claiming on her own record).
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Hattie Carson
•My sister was in this exact situation! Her first marriage was 15 years, second marriage only lasted 3 years. After the second divorce, she was able to claim on her first husband's record when she turned 62. She got less than if she'd waited til FRA but needed the money.
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Destiny Bryant
Not totally correct on this thread!! An ex can claim on prior spouse ONLY if the divorce happened after age 60!!! My cousin tried to claim on her ex and got denied because she was 58 when they divorced even tho they were married 25 years!!!
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Kendrick Webb
•That's not accurate. You're confusing the rules for survivor benefits with the rules for ex-spouse benefits. For divorced spouse benefits, the requirements are: 1. The marriage lasted at least 10 years 2. The person claiming is currently unmarried (OR their subsequent marriage ended) 3. Both parties are at least 62 The rule you're referencing about divorce after 60 applies only to survivor benefits after an ex-spouse dies, not to regular ex-spouse benefits while both are living.
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Dyllan Nantx
don't worry about it man, your benefits won't be reduced even if she does claim someday. my ex claimed on my record after our 3rd divorce but it didn't change my check one bit
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TillyCombatwarrior
•Just to clarify for everyone - it's true that if an ex-spouse claims benefits on your record, it has zero effect on your own benefit amount. This is an important point many people misunderstand about Social Security. However, I should note that the first marriage must have lasted at least 10 years for ex-spouse benefits to be available at all.
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Anna Xian
I had an impossible time getting through to SSA to ask this exact question last month. Kept getting disconnected after waiting 2+ hours! Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent confirmed what others are saying - your ex-wife can't claim on your record while she's married to someone else. But the agent also mentioned that even if she does become eligible someday (if her current marriage ends), it would have zero impact on your benefit amount or your current wife's spousal benefit.
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Norman Fraser
•Thanks for the tip about Claimyr! I've had terrible luck getting through to SSA lately. And thanks for confirming what the others have said about my situation with the ex-spouse benefits.
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Jungleboo Soletrain
My understanding is that your ex-spouse can only claim on your benefit if she's not currently married, so she has no claim on your record because of her remarriage. But I wanted to ask about your current wife... you mentioned she started spousal benefits before FRA. Have you checked if she would have been better off waiting until FRA for the spousal benefit? Sometimes that math works out better.
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Norman Fraser
•We did consider that option. She's 63 now and started her spousal benefits last year at 62. We ran the numbers and decided the early reduced amount made more sense for our situation since we're using the money for some home renovations that would be harder to do later. But you're right that waiting until FRA would have meant a larger benefit!
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Hattie Carson
My friend's ex tried to claim on his record even tho she was remarried and SSA denied her. So your ex definitely can't claim while she's still married. But I think the more important question is are YOU getting the maximum benefit you're entitled to? Did you check if you qualify for any of those special filing strategies before they were eliminated?
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Kendrick Webb
•Most of the special filing strategies (like file-and-suspend) were eliminated by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. Since the original poster started benefits last year, they wouldn't have been eligible for those strategies anyway. The only special strategy still available is for widow(er)s who can choose when to take their survivor benefit versus their own retirement benefit.
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Norman Fraser
Thank you all for the helpful information! It seems clear that my ex-wife has no claim to benefits on my record as long as she remains married. That's a relief to know. My current wife and I are satisfied with our benefit decisions, even though she's receiving a reduced amount by claiming early. One follow-up question - if my ex-wife's current marriage ends and she then claims on my record when she's eligible, would I be notified by SSA? Or would that happen without my knowledge?
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TillyCombatwarrior
•The SSA would not notify you if your ex-wife files for benefits on your record. The process happens entirely without your involvement or knowledge. Remember that her claim (if she ever becomes eligible to file one) would have absolutely no impact on your benefit amount or your current wife's benefits. The SSA considers each claim independently.
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Collins Angel
Just wanted to add some clarity on the timing aspects since I see some questions about this. Your ex-wife would need to wait until she's at least 62 to claim any ex-spouse benefits (assuming she becomes eligible by being unmarried at that time). Since she's currently 55, that's still 7 years away. Also, regarding notification - you're correct that SSA won't notify you if she ever does file. This is standard practice to protect privacy. The system is designed so that ex-spouse claims are completely separate from your benefits and don't require any input or awareness from you. One small correction to an earlier comment - the 10-year marriage requirement is measured from the date of marriage to the date the divorce was finalized, not just separated. Since you mentioned 19 years of marriage, that requirement is definitely met if the situation ever changes.
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Kingston Bellamy
•This is really helpful information! I'm new to understanding Social Security rules and this thread has been educational. Just to make sure I understand correctly - if someone was married for 19 years like the original poster, that easily meets the 10-year requirement. And the key factor preventing the ex-wife from claiming is her current marriage status, not anything about when she divorced or her age when divorced. Is that right?
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