Following a Maryland divorce, you might expect to have to split many of your possessions and assets with your former partner. You may, too, wonder whether your ex has any entitlement to your Social Security funds when the time comes.
According to AARP, your ex may be able to use your work history and record to collect Social Security retirement or disability benefits. However, he or she must meet certain eligibility requirements to do so. Also, even if he or she does this, it should not impact how much you are able to collect.
How to determine eligibility
Your ex may be able to collect Social Security spousal benefits based on your earnings record if you are still alive and unmarried and he or she is at least 62. Furthermore, your marriage must have lasted at least 10 years, and your ex also has to have the entitlement to collect Social Security retirement or disability benefits at all to be able to receive payments based on your record.
How your ex accessing Social Security affects you
Even if your ex decides to claim benefits based on your work history, rather than his or her own, this does not impact how much you receive in benefits. In other words, even when your ex obtains Social Security through your work history, the amount you, personally, receive remains the same.
You do not have the option of preventing your former spouse from collecting Social Security based on your earnings if he or she meets the criteria. However, you have no real need to do so, either, since it does not impact how much you receive.
