Social Security survivor benefits with divorce 3 months shy of 10-year marriage requirement - can ex-wife still claim?
Hi everyone, I need some clarification on Social Security survivor benefits for a divorced spouse. My father remarried in 2023 and this got us talking about his first marriage. He was married to his ex-wife from June 1990 until they separated in 1998, but their divorce wasn't finalized until March 2000 - which makes it 9 years and 9 months of marriage (3 months shy of 10 years). Dad is now 63 and has a much higher earnings record than his ex-wife. I know the general rule is a divorced spouse needs 10 years of marriage to qualify for survivor benefits. But I've heard SSA sometimes counts the separation period differently than the actual divorce date. Does anyone know if the 3-month shortfall would disqualify his ex-wife from claiming survivor benefits on his record if something happened to him? Dad's concerned about this for some reason, even though they've been divorced for over 20 years. Any insights would be really helpful!
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Daniel White
The 10-year marriage duration requirement for divorced spouse benefits is pretty strict. The marriage must have lasted at least 10 years to the day - from the date of marriage to the date the divorce became final. The separation period doesn't matter to SSA; they only look at the legal marriage dates. In your father's case, with the marriage lasting 9 years and 9 months, unfortunately his ex-wife would not qualify for divorced spouse or divorced survivor benefits on his record. The Social Security Administration doesn't make exceptions for being close to the 10-year mark. Your father doesn't need to worry about this affecting his own benefits in any way. His ex-wife would need to rely on her own work record or perhaps benefits from another marriage that did meet the 10-year requirement.
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Abigail Patel
•Thank you for explaining this so clearly! I'll let my dad know. He'll probably be relieved, to be honest. Just out of curiosity - is there any appeals process if someone is just slightly under the 10-year requirement? Or is it really that black and white?
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Nolan Carter
My friend went thru something similar and she was 11 months short of 10 years and SSA told her absolutely NO benefits!!! The 10 yr rule is set in stone from what I heard!!! Sorry but thats how the govt works, no exceptions even for one day short!!!
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Natalia Stone
•You're correct that the 10-year marriage duration requirement for divorced spouse benefits is strictly enforced. There's no appeals process for this particular rule - it's established in the Social Security Act and isn't subject to exceptions or waivers. However, it's worth noting that the ex-wife may still qualify for benefits on her own work record, or potentially through another marriage that did meet the 10-year requirement. Everyone's situation is different, but the 10-year rule itself is indeed applied without exceptions.
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Tasia Synder
Wait, I'm confused about something. You said your father was married from June 1990 to March 2000? That's actually 9 years and 9 months. But then you also said they were separated in 1998 but divorce wasn't finalized until 2000? Does separation count differently? My parents were separated for 5 years before divorcing and now I'm worried about my mom's benefits!
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Daniel White
•Separation doesn't count differently - only the legal end of the marriage matters. So for your mother, as long as the legal marriage (from wedding date to final divorce decree date) lasted at least 10 years, she would qualify for divorced spouse benefits regardless of when the separation occurred. The physical separation date has no bearing on Social Security's calculation of marriage duration. It's strictly from the legal marriage date to the date the divorce was finalized by the court.
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Selena Bautista
I've been trying to reach SS about a similar issue for WEEKS. Constant busy signals, disconnections, and can never get through to a real person. Finally tried using Claimyr (claimyr.com) after seeing it mentioned here and got through to SSA in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent confirmed what others said - the 10-year rule is absolute. My ex-husband and I were married for 9 years and 10 months before our divorce was final, and I cannot claim on his record. Even explained that our divorce was delayed by court backlogs and it would have been over 10 years if not for that. Didn't matter. If you don't hit exactly 10 years of legal marriage, there's no eligibility.
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Abigail Patel
•Thanks for sharing your experience. Sorry to hear you were also just short of the 10-year mark. How frustrating that court delays cost you potential benefits! I'm glad you were finally able to get through to SSA to confirm, though. I'll check out that service if we need to call them.
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Mohamed Anderson
Actually my sister got divorced after 9yrs 11months and she DOES get benefits from her ex so maybe there are exceptions??
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Ellie Perry
•Are you sure she's getting divorced spouse benefits and not benefits based on her own work record? Or maybe she remarried and qualifies through another spouse? The 10-year rule doesn't have exceptions - it's written into the law. Maybe double-check with her about what kind of benefits she's receiving.
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Natalia Stone
To clarify some confusion in this thread: the 10-year duration of marriage requirement is absolute for divorced spouse benefits. The relevant date is when the divorce became final according to the court decree, not when separation occurred. There are three important points to understand: 1. If the marriage lasted even one day less than 10 years, there is no eligibility for divorced spouse benefits or divorced survivor benefits. 2. There are no exceptions, waivers, or appeals processes for the 10-year requirement. It's established in Section 216 of the Social Security Act. 3. Separation periods are irrelevant - only the legal start and end dates of the marriage count. In the case described, with a marriage lasting 9 years and 9 months, the ex-wife would not be eligible for benefits on the wage earner's record.
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Abigail Patel
•Thank you for this detailed explanation. It makes the situation very clear. I'll definitely pass this information along to my father. I appreciate everyone's help with this question!
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Tasia Synder
What if they never got legally divorced? Does that count? I know someone who was married for 8 years but they separated and never did the legal divorce for another 3 years.
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Daniel White
•That's a good question! If they were legally married for a total of 11 years before finalizing the divorce (8 years together + 3 years separated but still legally married), then yes, that would count as a 10+ year marriage for Social Security purposes. SSA looks at the legal marriage duration from wedding date to the date the divorce was finalized by the court. Separation without legal divorce means you're still married in the eyes of the law and Social Security.
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Ellie Perry
When I was going thru my divorce 15 years ago, my lawyer actually warned me about this 10-year rule and suggested delaying the divorce by a few months to hit the 10-year mark. He said it wouldn't affect anything else in our settlement but would preserve my right to claim on my ex's record. I wonder if your dad's lawyer never mentioned this? Most divorce attorneys know about this rule if they're experienced.
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Abigail Patel
•That's really interesting! I have no idea if his lawyer mentioned it or not. This was back in 2000 so it was a long time ago. Maybe they didn't consider it or maybe they didn't care about it at the time. I bet a lot of people don't think about Social Security implications during divorce, especially when they're younger. Good to know that lawyers do sometimes advise on this!
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Nolan Carter
THIS IS WHY THE SYSTEM IS SO UNFAIR!!!! Someone married 9 years 364 days gets NOTHING while someone married 10 years and 1 day gets FULL BENEFITS!!! Makes no sense!!! They should prorate it or something!!!
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Natalia Stone
•While I understand your frustration with the seeming arbitrariness of a strict cutoff, benefit eligibility rules often need clear lines. A prorated system might seem fairer but would be much more complex to administer. The 10-year duration requirement was established to ensure a substantial relationship existed before entitlement to benefits on another person's record. Without some defined threshold, determining eligibility would become subjective. It may help to remember that someone who doesn't qualify for divorced spouse benefits can still receive benefits based on their own work record, and there are other safety nets like SSI for those with limited resources.
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