{"id":93525,"date":"2025-08-19T04:53:20","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T04:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/93525\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T04:53:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T04:53:20","slug":"i-dont-want-to-retire-my-wife-didnt-work-were-considering-divorce-so-she-can-get-social-security-early","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/93525\/","title":{"rendered":"I don’t want to retire. My wife didn’t work. We’re considering divorce so she can get Social Security early"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Barry, 53, and his wife Michelle, 58, are planning for their retirement<\/a>. Michelle has been a stay-at-home parent for the majority of her adult life, and despite not having the credits to qualify for Social Security<\/a>, she isn\u2019t interested in re-joining the workforce after decades of raising and taking care of the kids. Barry, meanwhile, loves his job and doesn\u2019t plan on stopping anytime soon. He also supports his wife\u2019s decision after her years of service being a full-time mom.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Fortunately for them, Social Security doesn’t just offer benefits for workers. Spouses \u2014 even ex-spouses \u2014 can be eligible to collect retirement benefits based on their partner’s work record.<\/p>\n

The rules surrounding the claiming of spousal benefits are complicated, but one notable quirk is that spouses must first wait for their partner to start collecting Social Security, while eligible ex-spouses may be able to collect checks as early as age 62.<\/p>\n

So, does that mean couples in this situation would benefit from getting a divorce? Not so fast.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what our married couple needs to know before potentially untying the knot.<\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s lay out the rules<\/a> for claiming spousal benefits. Spouses can claim up to 50% of a partner\u2019s full retirement amount, but only once their partner has started collecting benefits. The earliest age to claim is 62, but spouses still must wait on their partners.<\/p>\n

Ex-spouses, however, can sometimes claim benefits earlier \u2014 as long as the ex-spouse is unmarried, the couple\u2019s marriage lasted at least 10 years, they\u2019ve been divorced for at least two years and both former partners are 62 or older. In this case, an ex-spouse doesn\u2019t have to wait for their former partner to collect benefits.<\/p>\n

So, if they divorced, Michelle could theoretically start collecting spousal benefits before Barry, but she\u2019d have to wait until she turns 67, which is nine years away.<\/p>\n

Of note, similar to standard retirement benefits, if a spouse claims benefits before their full retirement age (67 for those born after 1960), they will receive a reduced benefit. In Michelle\u2019s case, either way, she\u2019d be at full retirement age when she becomes eligible to claim.<\/p>\n

Story Continues <\/p>\n

While this approach might seem beneficial, it carries risks. First, even if they divorce, Michelle can’t collect benefits for almost a decade. If money is tight, this won\u2019t solve their current cash flow problem. Here are some other downsides to consider:<\/p>\n

There’s a risk that the Social Security Administration (SSA) could flag the divorce as fraudulent. If the agency suspects the couple only divorced to game the system, while continuing to live as if they were married, it could result in serious penalties. The SSA may investigate suspicious claims \u2014 including those that involve filing for benefits earlier than usual.<\/p>\n

Read more: Nervous about the stock market? Gain potential quarterly income through this $1B private real estate fund \u2014 even if you\u2019re not a millionaire. Here\u2019s how to get started with as little as $10<\/a><\/p>\n

The end of a marriage \u2014 even if it’s only on paper \u2014 comes with its risks and costs. Legal fees, the hassle of dividing assets and the emotional impact might outweigh any benefits. Divorce attorney fees can total thousands of dollars, which can be a significant burden for if a couple already faces financial challenges. There may be other impacts as well, such as the splitting of investment accounts, such as a 401(k)<\/a>, that could impact their growth.<\/p>\n

Divorce can impact other areas of financial planning, including taxes, health insurance<\/a>, pensions and survivor benefits. Once divorced, one spouse may no longer qualify for their former partner\u2019s employer insurance plan. They must also be aware that they may no longer be the designated next of kin for their ex, which can have complicated medical and legal repercussions.<\/p>\n

Rather than divorcing, Barry and Michelle may want to explore other ways to strengthen their finances and prepare for their golden years. Depending on their situation, this might include:<\/p>\n

Working part-time or freelance: If the stay-at-home spouse can work even a few years, they may qualify for their own benefits. It only takes 10 years of modest earnings to earn the 40 credits needed for eligibility. At the very least, this could bring in some extra cash.<\/p>\n

Delaying Social Security: Spousal benefits may be based on the working partner\u2019s full retirement age, but the worker can earn a higher benefit if they wait until age 70 to claim.<\/p>\n

Reducing spending or downsizing: The couple may want to consider downsizing their home and cutting down on non-essential spending. This could help them stretch the working spouse’s income further.<\/p>\n

Divorcing solely to access Social Security benefits might offer short-term gain, but it comes with risks and long-term complications. Instead, it might be better to plan a roadmap to retirement together \u2014 potentially with the help of a financial advisor, who can offer them different strategies regarding work and Social Security going forward.<\/p>\n

Stay in the know. Join 200,000+ readers and get the best of Moneywise sent straight to your inbox every week for free. Subscribe now.<\/a><\/p>\n

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Barry, 53, and his wife Michelle, 58, are planning for their retirement. Michelle has been a stay-at-home parent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":93526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[28,63554,14837,19127,147,530,1666,733,44571,63553],"class_list":["post-93525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-collect-benefits","tag-divorce","tag-partner","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-retirement","tag-social-security","tag-spousal-benefits","tag-wife-michelle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}