In and of itself, Social Security stands as one of the most complex areas in planning—let alone divorce settlement planning—yet most people downplay its importance. For divorcing couples, if proper planning is not done, the result can be significant. Within this article, we will present the basic rules, some comparisons between married and divorced couples, and a few helpful hints. With over 2,700 rules governing retirement benefits, and 567 possible filing strategies available to a typical couple, this article will only touch upon some of the more common issues and questions. Of course, nothing that we do is ever typical.

Let's start with a few basic rules for a divorced spouse to receive spousal benefits on the former spouse's earnings.

(1) The couple must have been married for a minimum of 10 years.