Exerts from an article on msn.com

A marital split, divorce or remarriage can have long-lasting ramifications when it comes to your retirement benefit. Most retirees are uninformed about how Social Security benefits are calculated, and often overlook how their change in marital status affects this critical retirement asset.

1. If you get a divorce and your marriage lasted nine years and 11 months, you’re out of luck. But if your marriage lasted 10 years or longer and you’ve been divorced for at least two years, you’re eligible for a divorced spousal benefit.  You can claim either your own benefit or your ex-spouse’s benefit, whichever is higher.

2. You can also claim both benefits. Many divorced spouses optimize their Social Security by beginning their divorced spousal benefit at age 66, which is currently the full retirement age (FRA), and then switching to their own benefit at age 70.

3. If you begin claiming divorced spousal benefits between age 62 and FRA, you don’t get the opportunity to restrict your filing. Those who file for early benefits are required to take the higher of personal or spousal benefits. In fact, if you work during this time, your benefit could be adjusted downward due to the so-called earnings limit.

4. Getting remarried after a divorce generally means that you lose whatever benefit you may have been eligible for from your former spouse. For most people, this might not be a big deal because it only takes a year of remarriage to become eligible based on your new spouse’s record.

However, if your new spouse is a subsistence farmer, mafia boss, or engages in other activities that do not report income, you may not be eligible for any spousal benefits. The only exception to this loss of benefits occurs if your second spouse dies. If you’ve been married for 10 years more than once, you could be eligible for both benefits, but you’ll only receive the higher of the two. However, if neither ex has remarried, they are both eligible to claim spousal benefits on your record.

5. You don’t need to wait for your divorced spouse to file for benefits to become eligible for spousal benefits. If you are both at least age 62, which is the earliest you are eligible for personal or spousal benefits, and you have been divorced for at least two years, Social Security allows you to make an independent filing decision.

Because divorce and remarriage add complexity to your Social Security decisions, give us a call and we will provide professional financial advice before you make such an important decision.