The 10-Year Requirement and Break-in-Marriage Exceptions
Under official guidelines published by the Social Security Administration, a rare break-in-marriage exception protects individuals who divorced and later remarried the same person. If you remarry your former spouse no later than the calendar year following the year your divorce became final, the agency treats the entire period as one continuous marriage. This provision helps couples reach the required 10-year threshold even if a temporary divorce interrupted their legal relationship.
Once you satisfy the duration test, age criteria dictate your monthly payments. The minimum claiming age for divorced spousal benefits on a living ex-spouse’s record is 62. Claiming at 62 causes a permanent benefit reduction; at Full Retirement Age—ranging between 66 and 67—your ex-spousal payout reaches its maximum limit of 50 percent of your former spouse’s Primary Insurance Amount.
