Q: I understand paying benefits to widows. But I don’t understand paying benefits to divorcees. A woman who is divorced is not a widow. She is an ex-wife. So why does she have a claim to her ...

The same rules that apply to divorced and financially dependent wives and widows also apply to divorced and financially dependent husbands and widowers.(Prostock-Studio / Getty Images) Over the 27 ...

When you lose a spouse, whether that be through death or divorce, Social Security can replace much of the income you counted on. In fact, survivor benefits account for about 8.3% of all Social ...

The primary requirement to receive spousal benefits is that you must be married to someone eligible for either retirement or ...

Q: My husband of 49 years died a few months ago. I filed for widow's benefits and started receiving them with no problem. But I got a letter telling me that I was not eligible for the $255 death ...

The payment of the one-time death payment is limited to a “spouse who was living with the deceased at the time of death.” Jupiterimages / Getty Images Q: My husband of 49 years died a few months ago.

How much Social Security income spouses receive depends on their claim age and the primary insurance amount (PIA) of their ...

Divorce is rarely a straightforward experience. There's bound to be a flurry of emotions. In addition, there are practical issues to work through, like how marital belongings will be divided and where ...

Spouses with no work history can claim Social Security on the work record of their retired partner (or ex-partner) under certain conditions. If the spouse claims Social Security at full retirement age ...

Social Security can go a long way in retirement, and if you're married, you could be entitled to extra cash each month in the form of spousal benefits. The average spouse of a retired worker collects ...

Over the 27 years I've been writing this column, I have probably written a hundred columns directed at divorced women. But after answering emails from men who had questions about benefits for ...