Think of the situation where two people get married young, have kids, one spouse stays home, and then they get divorced after a few decades. After the divorce, the spouse which stayed home will likely have much smaller earning potential than the working spouse. The working spouse will have had many increases in salary and will have extensive work experience. The non-working spouse will have to start in more entry level positions and likely earn much less in the future than the working spouse.
Alimony attempts to equalize this initial income imbalance, but what about Social Security benefits? Not only does the non-working spouse have more limited earning potential, but they also will not be able to approach the SS benefit level of the working spouse. The working spouse will have made much larger contributions during the marriage and will continue to do so in the future because of the larger income. The non-working spouse has a double-whammy of making less money and having less of a SS benefit.
Would it make sense for SS contributions to be split evenly among a married couple? That way if they get divorced, the non-working spouse would still get credit for making some SS contributions during the marriage. If both spouses work, the split contributions would still mean that their contributions would be equalized. It could even be optional so that the spouses can elect to have their contribution split or not.
The SSA does have some rules about how someone can get benefits based on their ex-spouse, but there are exceptions and qualifications based on when benefits are applied for or depending on who got re-married. I think it would instead make more sense to just split the contribution among the spouses. That way no matter what happens, each spouse would have an equitable benefit.
Who knows the many and arcane rules of Social Security best? The people that work there. When I turned 65, my wife and I made an appointment at the nearest SS office and drove 10 hours to get there. We went in and were very friendly,* asked** for their counsel and help in applying for SS.* I think our attitude helped a lot. The guy was very friendly and helpful in return. My wife had worked very little outside the home so we didn’t expect but a few dollars for her. We were shocked when he told us my time in the Navy would also count and that my wife would receive not a few dollars but a substantial pension because her years as a stay-at-home mom would also count in there benefit calculation.
I suggest that you apply for an appointment at SS and use your social skills to ensure the officer you meet with will be in your corner looking for every benefit that might apply to your situation.
For couples which are still married, the non-working spouse is entitled to benefits. However, if they divorce, the ability for the non-working spouse to get benefits based on their ex’s contributions is limited. They have to have been married a certain amount of time and be unmarried when applying for benefits.
If the non-working spouse gets remarried, they cannot qualify for benefits based on their ex. This seems unfair if they had been in their first marriage a long time and the working spouse made large contributions to SS.
