Divorced, Widowed, and Wondering: How to Maximize Your Social Security Benefits

Social security can be a maze of rules and decisions to make if you're widowed or divorced, which makes claiming a daunting task. Most decisions are permanent and can make a difference of tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars over the rest of your lifetime, so you want to get this right. In this episode, I'm going to set the record straight and get you on the right path.

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Retired-ish. I am your host, Cameron Valadez, certified financial planner and enrolled agent. Today's episode is for all the divorcees and widows out there, especially those of you in your late 50s or early 60s, standing at that social security crossroads and wondering, do I claim now or do I wait? What am I eligible for? And are there different ways to claim? If you're not sure how your ex-spouse's record affects you, or what you're still entitled to after losing a partner, or how a remarriage fits into all of this, we're going to unpack it all. No vague rules, no sugarcoating, just straight answers to the questions I hear from women like you all the time.

But first, we need to talk about the elephant in the room, which is, is Social Security going broke? Because this fear is fueling a lot of bad decisions out there. Now, I've worked with enough women nearing retirement to know that this isn't just a money conversation.
It's emotional, it's personal. Many of you are coming out of life transitions like divorce, widowhood, or maybe even just decades of being a caregiver of sorts, and now you're staring down a government program that the media insists might not be there when you need it.

00:02:09
And understandably, that uncertainty makes people want to grab what they can while they can. I've heard it too many times. I want to file now before they get rid of it and there's nothing left, or at least if I get something, I'll be protected somewhat. I get the impulse, but I want to walk you through why that thinking could leave you with significantly less money and income over time.

First off, let's be crystal clear. Social Security is not going bankrupt, as in going to literally zero. Not in 2033, not in 2034, not ever, as long as the social security tax, the payroll tax, remains in place for those who are currently working. What is true is that the trust fund reserves, basically the cash cushion, are most recently projected to run dry by 2033, according to the latest Social Security Trustees Report. Here's the key detail that most people miss. Even if that were to happen and Congress does absolutely nothing, which is highly unlikely, there will still be enough ongoing revenue from the payroll taxes and income taxes on social security benefits and interest income to cover about 79% of the promised benefits. Let me remind you that so far, Social Security has never missed a monthly payment since 1940, not once, even when it teetered on the edge of insolvency in the early 1980s. What happened in the 1980s and why does that matter now? Well, back in 1983, Congress stepped in with major changes to shore up the system.

00:03:58
Among those changes, they had gradually raised the full retirement age from 65 to 67. They introduced the windfall elimination provision for those with government pensions and non-covered earnings, which actually as of 2025, have already been eliminated and no longer exist. And for the first time, they made some Social Security benefits taxable for higher income earners. And just like that, the fund got back on solid ground. So here in 2025, we're facing a similar moment, only this time we have more options and more time. Some of the more likely changes that may come down the pipeline here in the next decade or so would be possibly raising the 6.2% payroll tax slightly. This is what the working class pays out of their paycheck into the program, but they only pay it on earnings up to $176,100 a year. And that's the figure for 2025. It gradually goes up each year. Then their employer also pays another 6.2% on their behalf. Another option, or another thing that may change, is adjusting the benefit formula or raising that full retirement age even higher. As time has gone on, people are generally living longer. We have a lot of advancements in the medical industry and healthcare. And so that is a high possibility that they raise that full retirement age, or more likely, in my opinion, doing something more politically palatable like reinstating the payroll tax at very high incomes above the current cap, which is that $176,000 or so a year, or increasing that cap significantly. Like I said, it already goes up each year, but it's very slight.

00:05:55
This last tweak wouldn't affect most Americans that are earning less than that each year, but it would go a long way in closing the funding gap. It would also be a significant redistribution of wealth, however. Not that I agree with that, but again, it's a choice that they have, and it's a little bit easier of a change than some of the other ones out there.

Let's circle back to that fear-based early claim. There's a common but very dangerous assumption that I want to debunk really quick, and that is that filing early somehow locks in your benefit and shields you from future potential cuts to social security benefits. Wrong. Let's take an example. Let's say Michelle, age 62, decides to file early. Her full retirement age benefit was projected at $2,000 a month. So she saw that on her social security statement. Let's say her full retirement age, it said, was 67. She would have received $2,000 a month at that time. By filing now, early at 62, she locks in a 30% or so reduction to her benefits permanently. So she starts receiving around $1,400 a month. Fast forward to 2034, lawmakers still haven't acted, which again, is incredibly unlikely, almost impossible in my opinion, and the trust fund dries up, let's say. Benefits are cut across the board by let's say another 21%.

So Michelle, instead of getting $2,000 a month or even her $1,400 a month, now receives $1,100 a month, which is basically a 44% reduction from what she would have had if she waited for full retirement age. That's not a strategy. That's panic. So what's the key message here? It's that filing early does not insulate you from potential changes in the future. It actually exposes you. If future cuts happen, your already reduced benefit gets reduced even further, and there's no going back.

00:07:58
Now I'm not saying that waiting is always better, but I am saying that fear is a bad foundation for a retirement strategy. We need to weigh things like longevity risk, spousal or survivor benefits, personal health, and cashflow needs, not just media headlines. That's exactly what the rest of this episode is all about.

Now let's break down everything divorcees need to know. Specifically, women who may be entitled to benefits based on an ex-spouse's work record, but don't know it, or were given bad advice during the divorce process. Whether you were married for decades or just shy of 10 years, the rules here are incredibly specific and the stakes are high. So let's walk through the eligibility criteria, the most common mistakes, and real-life scenarios from our own practice.

First, here are the eligibility requirements for divorcees to collect a benefit based on their ex-spouse's work record. Here's the criteria. First is you must be at least age 62. The second is the marriage must have lasted at least 10 years. Three, you are currently unmarried. So when you go to try to claim this benefit, you are unmarried. You are not entitled to your own retirement benefit that would be equal to or higher than half of your ex's full retirement benefit. That full retirement benefit, it has another term called the primary insurance amount or PIA. This is their retirement benefit if they were to claim at their stated full retirement age, which is dictated by when they were born. It is currently age 67 for many. I'll tell you, if this all sounds confusing, if you were to just look at a Social Security statement of yours or your spouse's, it will show you all of these things. And lastly, your ex must be receiving retirement or disability benefits from Social Security unless, and this is a big caveat, you've been divorced at least two years and your ex is at least eligible for benefits.

00:10:17
Basically meaning they're at least 62 years old. In that case, you qualify as what is called an independently entitled ex-spouse. And because it's so important, let's go back and talk about the 10-year rule I mentioned real quick. To qualify for social security benefits on an ex-spouse's work record, the marriage must have lasted at least 10 full years. This is not an estimate. It's not rounded up, and it doesn't matter if the divorce was amicable or messy. If the divorce is finalized before your 10th anniversary, you're out. Doesn't matter if you were married for 9 years and 11 months. 10 years, hard line. That one line in the sand catches so many people off guard, and once the divorce is finalized, it's too late to fix.

Let's say you're already in your 60s. Your divorce is finalized before the 10-year mark, and you've been receiving spousal benefits under your now ex-spouse's record. So in other words, you were receiving benefits based on their record while you two were married. Those benefits, once you're divorced, if you haven't been married 10 years, will stop. Same goes for any dependent stepchildren that might be receiving benefits under your ex's work record. Those also end the month after the divorce is final. And if you're what we call a spousal “ top-off,” your own benefit was supplemented by your ex's higher record. That top-off disappears, leaving you with a potentially lower check than you expected. This is why it's so critical to incorporate social security planning into any divorce negotiations, not after all the papers are signed.

00:12:04
Okay, so let's say you weren't married for a full 10 years. But then you eventually remarried the same person. Hey, it happens. There's a workaround, but it's pretty narrow. If you divorced and then remarried the same person, the Social Security Administration may allow you to combine the two marriage periods in order to meet that 10-year requirement. But here's the catch. You must have remarried in the calendar year after the divorce. So, for example, let's say Aaron and Jason married in 1997, and they divorced in 2006, then remarried in December of 2007, and stayed married for four more years. That qualifies. But if they remarried in January of 2008, just a month later, that second window closes, and those years don't count toward the 10. So when might this scenario be a problem? Well, if they were to get divorced again, unless they were married for another 10 years, there's not going to be any ex-spousal benefits. So be careful there.

What about same-sex and common-law marriages? Well, same-sex marriages are recognized for all social security purposes, thanks to the 2015 Supreme Court decision. If you were in a common-law marriage in a state that recognizes it, you may still qualify for divorce spouse benefits, so long as you can prove the relationship under state law. Don't assume your non-traditional marriage disqualifies you in any way. The Social Security Administration is slowly catching up to reality, but you have to give them the proper documentation. If you do that, you should be fine.

All right, I also want to circle back one more time to that exception, since it's so important, the independently entitled ex-spouse. This is a game changer. So I'll recap it again.

00:13:57
One of the requirements was that if you've been divorced for at least two years, and your ex is at least 62 years old and eligible for social security, you can claim benefits based on their record, even if they have not filed for their own benefits yet. So it doesn't matter if they're taking their own social security or not. So let's say your ex doesn't want to retire yet. Doesn't matter. You don't have to wait on them. You don't have to ask them. You don't have to notify them. The Social Security Administration will handle it privately.

This provision gives divorced women autonomy, and it's one of the most underused benefits on the books. It's important because oftentimes women in these situations may think they need to somehow get a hold of their ex's social security statements without them voluntarily coughing it up, and wonder how they could possibly do that. Well, in these cases, you don't necessarily have to. So let's say I meet all of the eligibility requirements. I should be able to collect based on my ex-spouse's record. How much can I expect? Well, assuming you meet all the requirements, the most you can receive is up to 50% of your ex's primary insurance amount or PIA. Again, that's what they would receive at their own full retirement age. Now there's some important caveats to this. Notice I said most you can receive. If you file before your own full retirement age, your benefit will be reduced permanently. If you're still working, there is something called the annual earnings limit that may apply depending on your age. More on that a little bit later.
Your ex's timing doesn't affect your benefit. So it doesn't matter when they're filing. If you met the requirements and you've been divorced at least two years, it doesn't matter how they are when they file. That's not going to affect you. What affects you is when you file.

00:15:58
Lastly, your benefit does not reduce your ex's benefit or their current spouse's benefit if they remarried. So it's not like you're getting any kind of revenge on them by filing based on their record. It doesn't affect them. In fact, the Social Security Administration doesn't notify your ex at all when you apply. So no worries there. So at the end of the day, how much you can receive depends on their potential benefits at their full retirement age. So for planning purposes, it really helps to know that number. So if you're in the middle of a divorce right now, or you're split and planning to divorce in the near future, try to get a copy of their most recent Social Security statement. While it's not necessary, it can help you down the road. But again, it's not necessary. Ultimately, you can get that information from the Social Security Administration when looking to make a claim.

Okay, so let's go over some real questions as they pertain to social security and divorcees from people we've talked to over the years, just like you. The first question is, I'm turning 62 this fall and want to file under my ex-husband's record. We were married for 28 years and divorced three years ago. He's 67 now, and he still works. I don't want to ask him if he's filed. How can I find out if I'm eligible, and will his continued earnings affect my benefits? Well, the answer is there's great news. You don't need to ask him. Since you've been divorced for more than two years and he's over 62 and eligible for his own benefit, you qualify as an independently entitled ex-spouse. His income won't impact your benefit at all, but your income could. If you're still working and under your own full retirement age and decide to start collecting benefits, you may be subject to that earnings limit that I mentioned earlier. So, as a side note, based on her question, she would have some of the benefits clawed back taken away because she would be collecting early at age 62 and still working.

00:18:08
Those clawbacks would stop once she reached her full retirement age. And to answer the second part of that question, to find out how much you're entitled to, you can apply online or make an appointment with your social security office. Just be ready to provide marriage and divorce dates and information, and a little info on your ex. Social security will handle the rest.

All right. So here's another question we've received before. I was married for about nine and a half years to my husband and collecting dependent spousal benefits before I got divorced.
But then, Social Security sent me a letter saying I had to pay back everything since our divorce. Is that right? The answer here is, unfortunately, possibly yes. The Social Security Administration is very strict about that 10-year marriage rule. If the divorce is finalized even one day before the 10th anniversary, you lose entitlement to spousal benefits, and any benefits paid after the divorce are considered overpayments, and you have to send that money back. What I would say is you're not alone. This happens more than people realize. However, if you were married to someone else before this marriage and that one lasted 10 years or more, you might still have some options. This concept can be missed during the divorce process and completely change the before and after financial outcomes. So be sure not to overlook this because oftentimes in the negotiation process, that’s what it’s all about. We’ve seen family law and divorce attorneys miss this when prepping their cases.

00:19:48
Alright, question number three. My ex-husband has been married multiple times. Each marriage lasted over 10 years as far as I'm aware. Can multiple ex-wives claim benefits on his record?
And what about his current spouse? This is a good one. The answer is yes, they all can assuming that they meet the other criteria. Each spouse can claim up to 50% of this guy's primary insurance amount. These benefits don't affect each other, and divorced spouses aren't included in the family maximum cap. Even the current spouse can collect their own spousal benefit if eligible. So yes, one person's work record can potentially support multiple ex-spouses and a current spouse without reducing anyone's paycheck. Kind of crazy, huh? No wonder the trust reserves are dwindling faster than we initially thought.

Alright, moving on, question number four. I'm 62 and divorced. I only worked part-time for most of my life. Can I apply for benefits under my ex-husband's record even if I haven't spoken to him in years? The answer, yes, absolutely. As long as you were married for 10 or more years and divorced for at least two years, and your ex is over age 62, you can apply as an independently entitled ex-spouse. You don't need his permission. Social Security will keep that confidential.
Your application will ask for some basic info like marriage dates and your ex's social security number if you know it, but you don't have to have every detail. Social Security can look up his record.

To recap, four divorcees. One, marriage must have lasted 10 full years. Two, you must be unmarried and over age 62 because that's when you're eligible to take Social Security. Three, your own benefit must be less than 50% of your ex's primary insurance amount. Four, if divorced for two or more years, you can claim even if they haven't filed. And lastly, none of this affects their benefits or their current spouses.

00:22:06
Okay, now let's shift to widows and surviving ex-spouses. We'll cover how survivor benefits work, what happens if you remarry, and what to do if your income is too high to collect now, but you still want to preserve your options later. This is a big one because if you're widowed, whether you were still married at the time of your spouse's passing or had been divorced after a long marriage, you may be entitled to a survivor benefit. And spoiler alert, widow benefits or survivor benefits can be worth significantly more than divorced spouse benefits or ex-spousal benefits. So getting this right really matters. And because women tend to outlive their male counterparts, the likelihood of you eventually collecting a survivor benefit is high.

So what changes when a former spouse dies? Well, the key difference between divorced spouse benefits or ex-spousal benefits and divorced widow benefits or survivor benefits is that the maximum benefit jumps from 50% of your ex's primary insurance amount up to 100% of what your former spouse was receiving or entitled to receive at the time of death. Let that sink in. If you're eligible, you could be entitled to a full survivor benefit even if you divorced years ago, then they passed, and you hadn't spoken to them since while you were divorced. But the rules? They're just as nuanced as everything else in social security.

Here are the core requirements for divorced widows. To receive a divorced widow benefit, you must one have been married to your spouse for at least 10 years, very similar to what we just talked about before. And by the way, for those who weren't divorced and your spouse passed away, in order to get that survivor benefit, you only needed to be married for nine months before they passed away.

00:24:09
So there's a big difference there. Don't get those two mixed up. The second one is you need to be at least age 60. Not 62, 60 for the survivor benefit. Or you can be as young as age 50 if you're disabled, or you can be any age if you're caring for a child under 16 or a child disabled before age 22.

Lastly, you need to be unmarried at the time you apply, or you remarry but after age 60. This is huge. We'll talk about more of this in a moment. Unlike divorced spouse benefits, where your ex must be living and claiming or you're independently entitled, survivor benefits kick in once your former spouse passes, regardless of whether they were collecting or not.

Okay, so you might be worried about what I said about getting remarried. So what happens if you remarry? Well, it's about timing. Here's where people get tripped up. If you remarry before age 60, you forfeit survivor benefit eligibility under your late spouse's record. But if you remarry at age 60 or later, you're still eligible. So yes, the age at which you remarry literally determines whether you might receive hundreds of thousands in survivor benefits over your lifetime.
Insane, I know.

Here's an example. Let's say Nicole, a 63-year-old divorcee, was married to Tony for 15 years. Tony passed away last year. Nicole is dating again and thinking about marriage. If she ties the knot before her 60th birthday, she's out of luck. But if she waits until after turning 60, she preserves full eligibility for Tony's survivor benefit, even while married to somebody else.

00:26:00
This is one of the most underutilized planning tools in the social security rulebook. And speaking of underutilized tools, are there any strategic filing options that widows have or strategies? And the answer is yes. One major advantage of widow or survivor benefits is the flexibility. For example, you can claim your survivor benefit right now if you're eligible and switch to your own retirement benefit later, as late as age 70. So you can collect those extra credits for a much larger potential benefit. So if you had earned your own Social Security benefit, you can kind of delay that and let that grow while you collect a survivor benefit sooner. And then you can switch. Or you can claim your own reduced retirement benefit early and switch to the survivor benefit later, once it pays more. This is not allowed with spousal benefits while the ex is still living, but it is allowed with survivor benefits. That's one thing that trips a lot of people up. They think they're able to do that on ex-spousal benefits. No, this is only for survivor benefits where you can do this. If you're eligible, you might be able to optimize both benefits over time, using one now and delaying the other.

So here's an example of coordinating survivor and retirement benefits like that. Let's use a real world scenario. We have Vanessa. She is now age 58, was married to Marcus for 20 years before they divorced. Marcus passed away this year. Vanessa is earning a strong income and plans to retire at age 67 with her own projected social security benefit of around $2,500 a month. Marcus's survivor benefit is $2,200 a month. So at age 60, Vanessa can claim a reduced survivor benefit, which would be around 71.5% of Marcus's benefit because she's taking it early and not taking it at her full retirement age.

00:28:06
It gets reduced. That would be roughly $1,500 to $1,600 a month based on his survivor benefit. Then at age 70, she can switch to her own fully maximized retirement benefit, which would be much more since it will include all the cost-of-living adjustments from her age 62 all the way to 70 and those 8% per year increases starting at her full retirement age up to age 70. So this will likely put her own retirement benefit at 70, around $3,300 per month. This strategy gives Vanessa income earlier while still locking in the higher benefit later. Now we didn't talk about it in this example, but at age 60, if she were to start collecting that survivor benefit, albeit reduced, if she was still working because she said she planned to retire at 67, she likely would have had some benefits clawed back. So again, there's a lot of different nuances here. Everybody's situation is going to be a bit different, but we're assuming in this scenario that she changed her mind and decided to fully retire at age 60.

All right, so let's get into some questions that we've encountered in the past when it comes to survivor benefits. And I want to start with one that addresses a very common and very confusing situation. So here's the question. I'm a 63-year-old widow. I went to the Social Security office to apply for survivor benefits, but they told me I wasn't eligible because I earned too much.
That can't be right. I was hoping to claim the survivor benefit now and switch to my own at 70.
Can you explain this?

The answer is you're absolutely eligible, but you've run into that earnings limit rule. You're under full retirement age, Social Security applies an earnings test.

00:29:58
In 2025, if you are under your full retirement age for the entire year and earn more than just $23,400, Social Security withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 that you earn above that threshold. If you're in the year where you will reach your full retirement age and earn more than $62,160, they will hold back $1 for every $3 you earn over that threshold, but only until your birthday when you actually reach your full retirement age. At that point, they don't claw anything back anymore.

I know that was like a mouthful. So here's an example. Let's say you earn $100,000 this year and you won't reach your full retirement age during this year. That's $76,600 over the limit that we just discussed. Social security would withhold $38,300 in benefits. Yes, it's possible that your entire year of survivor benefits gets withheld. You don't get anything, but that money isn't lost forever. It's factored into a recalculation when you reach your full retirement age. So your future benefit will be permanently increased in order to make up for months that you didn't receive that money earlier. But still, this is why many widows wait to file if they're still working full time. But if your work situation changes or you're part-time, notify the Social Security Administration immediately so they can start paying whatever they can. If all of your benefits will be withheld, then you probably shouldn't be filing early. But if your long-term plan is to switch to your retirement benefit at 70, filing early for the survivor benefit, even if it's partially withheld, may still be a smart move. And just a heads up, you shouldn't be making these decisions without any context either.

00:32:00
They should be made with the rest of your finances, your tax situation, and your goals all in mind. Everything kind of works off of each other. It's not all about which benefit gives me the highest dollar amount right this moment. There's so many other things that come into play here. Just wanted to remind you of that.

Okay, next question. I was married to my first spouse for 20 years. He passed away 10 years ago. I remarried at 58, but just got divorced again. Can I now collect widow's benefits from my first husband? The answer, yes. You actually became ineligible because you remarried before age 60, but now that that second marriage has ended, your widow benefit eligibility is basically restored. If you were to remarry again after turning age 60, that remarriage would not disqualify you from claiming the survivor benefit from your first husband because he was after age 60. That's okay. So yes, now that you're divorced again, you can reapply as a surviving divorced spouse. That's a tricky one. Good question.

The next one, question number three. My friend's husband passed away in 2022. She was born in 1958 and turns 66 this year. She's confused. Social Security says her full retirement age is 66 and eight months, but a website says it's 66 and four months for survivor benefits. Which is it? And is there any benefit to waiting past full retirement age? Yeah, this is also a really good question. For people born in 1958, the full retirement age for their retirement benefits is 66 and eight months. And if you're wondering where I'm getting these figures from, it's public information. You can go on Social Security's website, and they show you. Okay, if you were born at this time, here's your full retirement age.

00:34:01
But the full retirement age for survivor benefits for her born in 1958 is 66 and four months. So there's a difference. And why is there a difference? Well, survivor's full retirement age is slightly earlier than retirement full retirement age for people who were born between 1955 and 1961. So make sure you're looking up the right full retirement age. If your birth year falls in that range, there's no benefit to waiting past full retirement age for survivor benefits. So unlike retirement benefits, survivor benefits do not earn those delayed credits. So earning that extra 8% per year, when you wait from your full retirement age, all the way up to age 70, those aren't a thing for survivor benefits. Once she hits 66 and four months, which is her survivor benefit full retirement age, she should go ahead and file.

All right, last question. Can I collect a survivor benefit from my deceased ex-husband, then switch to my own higher benefit at age 70? Yes, absolutely. If your marriage to him lasted 10 years or more, and you haven't remarried before age 60, you can collect a reduced survivor benefit as early as age 60. And later switch to your own retirement benefit at any time up to age 70. This is a smart coordination strategy, especially if your own benefit is higher, but you want or need some income a little bit sooner. But of course, you can take the reduced survivor benefit at say 64 if you want, maybe you're still working from 60 to 63. You can kind of take that whenever you want and then just keep delaying your own, but you don't wanna delay it past age 70. There's no benefit, you just start taking it.

00:35:58
Here are your key takeaways. Widows and surviving divorced spouses may be entitled to up to 100% of a deceased spouse's benefit. You must have been married to your current spouse for at least nine months before they passed away. If you were not divorced and your spouse just passed and you want survivor benefits, you needed to be married for nine months. If it's a divorced or ex-spouse that passes away, then the rule is 10 years. You must be age 60 or older, 50 if you are disabled, or any age if you have a child in care. If you remarry after age 60, you remain eligible for a survivor benefit. You can switch between survivor and your own retirement benefits in order to maximize the income that you collect from Social Security. You're eligible for a survivor's benefit even if you never worked. Earnings limits may temporarily reduce benefits claimed before full retirement age, but those reductions are recaptured later. They're not gone forever. And lastly, widows have more flexibility when it comes to benefits and claiming than any other Social Security category. So use it wisely.

Now I take that back. Let's wrap up with one more awesome question that finishes out the Social Security puzzle we have going here. It has to do with taxes. Now I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty of how Social Security itself is taxed, but rather how to avoid a nasty surprise bill come tax time every year by making sure you're withholding the proper amount for taxes throughout the year. So here's the question. I turned 73 last year, which triggered RMDs or required minimum distributions from my IRA. As a result, more of my Social Security became taxable, and I owed more in federal taxes than I expected. My tax advisor said I should request withholding. Am I required to do this? And if so, how?

00:38:09
Now the answer is no, you're not required to withhold taxes from your Social Security, but it's often a very smart idea. This often gets missed because choosing a withholding amount for taxes isn't a requirement when you make a claim for benefits. And the representatives at the administration, they're not tax people, so they're not gonna give you tax advice. The IRS expects you to pay your tax liability on a pay-as-you-go basis. That means either through quarterly estimated payments or withholding from your income sources, including Social Security. So again, that might be work, it might be a pension, whatever. To do that for Social Security, you'll want to file what is called Form W-4V, which allows you to choose a flat withholding rate of 7%, 10%, 12%, or 22%.

You submit this form directly to the Social Security administration, not the IRS. If you don't want to deal with paper, some Social Security offices will allow you to submit withholding instructions online via your My Social Security account. Alternatively, you could have the tax withheld from your IRA distributions instead, whichever method works better for your overall cashflow and your tax planning. You could also increase withholdings from any other potential income sources, like a pension, for example, if you have one. I'd say, though, that the W-4V for Social Security or the IRA withholdings are easier to do. If you often have tax issues each year because withholdings are all screwy, you can reach out to our office for a consultation. We deal with these issues on a daily basis.

00:39:58
This is where working with a financial advisor or a tax advisor who understands tax-efficient retirement income planning is critical, especially for women navigating retirement solo. Whether divorced or widowed, your financial picture likely includes multiple income sources, conflicting tax treatments, and a long planning runway, since it's very likely that you're gonna have a decent amount of longevity. The coordination between Social Security, RMDs, investment withdrawals, and taxes isn't something to leave to chance or to the last minute. If you've made it this far in the episode, first, I want to say thank you. These topics are complex, they're deeply personal, and for a lot of women in their late 50s and 60s, they're tied to major life transitions, loss, reinvention, independence. Knowledge is power.

If you're a divorced or widowed woman, unsure of how and when to claim your Social Security benefits or how to coordinate it with RMDs and your overall retirement income plan, this is what we do every day. We offer customized retirement income planning that integrates tax strategy, longevity planning, and real-life scenarios just like the ones we covered today.

So that being said, I want to take a moment to let you know that for those who schedule a 20-minute discovery call with our firm, Plannable Wealth, we actually send a free book that is for divorcees and widows about the planning implications that you should consider when you're on your own. And so I'll include a link in the episode show notes to schedule that and get your free copy if you're interested.

All right. So, let's recap everything we've learned today. Some final takeaways. Social Security isn't going broke. Don't panic file early and lock in a reduced benefit. Divorcees must meet the 10-year rule, be unmarried, and be over age 62. And you may qualify even if your ex hasn't filed. Widows and surviving divorced spouses may be eligible for 100% of a deceased spouse's benefit and can switch benefits strategically.

00:42:05
Remarriage before age 60 disqualifies survivor benefits. After age 60, you're still eligible. Taxes can sneak up, especially after RMDs kick in if you have any pre-tax retirement accounts like IRAs or 401(k)s, maybe a 403B, 457, et cetera. Proactive planning matters a lot when it comes to taxes. Filing Form W-4V to withhold taxes from your benefits can prevent underpayment penalties and headaches at tax time.

So that's a wrap on this week's episode. If you haven't already, subscribe to and follow the show on your podcast app. That way, you can get notified each time a new episode drops every two weeks. Also, be sure to check out our free monthly video newsletter to get more useful information on retirement planning, investments, and taxes once a month right to your inbox. The newsletter often dives deeper into some of the topics we discuss on the show, as well as provides some useful guides and charts available for download. As always, you can find the links to the resources we have provided in the episode description right there on your podcast app, or you can head over to RetiredishPodcast.com/75. Thanks again for tuning in and following along. See you next time on Retired-ish.

00:43:45 Disclosures
The opinions voiced in this podcast are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

To determine which strategies or investments may be suitable for you, consult the appropriate qualified professional prior to making a decision.

Cameron Valadez is a registered representative with, and securities and advisory services are offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC.

Neither LPL Financial nor its registered representatives offer tax or legal advice. Always consult a qualified tax advisor for information as to how taxes may affect your particular situation.

Tax and accounting related services offered through Plan-It Business Services DBA Planable Wealth. Plan-It Business Services is a separate legal entity and not affiliated with LPL Financial. LPL Financial does not offer tax advice or tax and accounting-related services.