Who Is Eligible
Generally speaking, the divorced spouse (wife or husband) of an American worker can receive spousal benefits if the worker is entitled to Social Security retirement or disability benefits and the spouse’s own retirement benefit would be smaller than the benefit based on the worker’s record. In addition, all of the following conditions must be met:
- the ex-spouse is at least 62 years old,
- the marriage lasted at least 10 years,
- the ex-spouse has not remarried (unless the second marriage ended in divorce or death),
- the worker is at least 62 or receives disability benefits; if the worker has turned 62 but is still working, the divorced spouse becomes entitled to spousal benefits only two years after the divorce.
As you can see, a divorced wife (or husband) needs to have been married for at least 10 years to get spousal benefits. If a person already collecting spousal benefits divorces before 10 years of marriage, those benefits will be stopped.
A change of name after the divorce does not matter, because the Social Security Administration will find the applicant by Social Security number and date of birth. In that case, you need to show the SSA office a document showing the name change: a naturalization certificate or a court order.
The Ex-Spouse Lives in Poland
The Polish-American social security agreement, which took effect on March 1, 2009, gave favorable privileges to families in Poland, including divorced spouses.
Family members of American workers who live in Poland (widows, widowers, spouses, ex-spouses, children) may be entitled to Social Security family benefits on the same terms as if they lived in the US. Family members do not have to be US citizens or green card holders, and they do not even need a Social Security number, to receive the Social Security family benefits due to them in Poland. The old requirement of living in a marriage for 5 years on American soil has also been abolished for Poles.
The totalization agreement brought one more important change. If a worker was employed in the States too briefly to become fully insured (10 years for retirement purposes, less for survivors benefits), the agreement allows his periods of work in Poland and in the US to be combined, provided he has at least 6 quarters of coverage in the US. More information can be found in the book “Emerytura polska i amerykańska, ich łączenie i skutki Umowy o zabezpieczeniu społecznym” (“Polish and American Pensions: Combining Them and the Effects of the Social Security Agreement”).
Note: The SSA withholds a 25.5 percent tax from nonresident aliens for tax purposes (people without US citizenship and without a green card) living outside the United States, unless they are entitled to an exemption under a tax treaty (Poles are not covered by such an exemption).
Who Gains, Who Loses
Many a worker fears that if an ex-spouse applies for Social Security benefits based on the marriage to him, he may lose or see a reduction in his Social Security retirement benefit, or his Polish pension, or perhaps both. There are fears that an ex-spouse collecting family benefits will deprive the current wife/husband of benefits.
These fears are unfounded. The Social Security Administration’s payment of spousal benefits to an ex-wife (ex-husband) does not reduce the worker’s retirement benefit or the benefits of his second wife (husband) or children. And the Polish Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych (ZUS, Poland’s Social Insurance Institution) is not concerned with Social Security benefits.
The amount of a divorced spouse’s benefit is the same as that of a current wife or husband, that is, a maximum of half of the worker’s primary insurance amount for people at full retirement age (67 for those born in 1960 and later). Younger people have their benefits reduced by the so-called actuarial reduction, which at age 62 is up to 35 percent. An ex-spouse aged 65 is also entitled to Medicare coverage.
Can Your Worker Husband Deprive You of Benefits?
It happens that non-working wives fear that their husbands will try out of spite to deprive them of benefits. They assume that the husband’s consent is required to get benefits based on the marriage to him (spousal benefits) and Medicare health coverage. These fears are unfounded.
A worker (the insured person) cannot take away spousal benefits or Medicare from a spouse or ex-spouse. His consent to the award of benefits is not required. He is not even informed that his “ex” is applying for or receiving benefits.
After the Ex-Spouse’s Death
After the worker’s death, his ex-wife will receive Social Security survivor (widow’s) benefits, provided she was married to him for at least 10 years and has reached at least age 60, or age 50 if she is disabled, and provided she did not remarry before turning sixty. Survivor benefits collected from full retirement age equal the worker’s retirement benefit, and early benefits are reduced accordingly. They will not reduce the survivor benefits of the worker’s current wife (husband) or the child’s benefits of his children.
Updated October 2026.
