What You Need To Know About Divorce’s Affects on Disability Benefits
People with disabilities and their dependents may qualify for disability benefits if they fit specific criteria. Here’s everything you need to know about how divorce affects one’s disability payments.
Getting divorced may change disability benefits for the better if you receive Supplemental Security Income, but for the worst, if you are getting Social Security Disability Insurance through a spouse. Alimony, child support, or dividing marital property may affect these benefits for beneficiaries. Dependents of people with disabilities may be affected by divorce in many different ways.
Disability Benefits
One’s Social Security disability payments may be affected by divorce depending on how they receive benefits. One may obtain disability benefits based on theirs or their spouse’s work record, or through the Supplemental Security Income program.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Supplemental Security Income benefits are need-based and calculated related to someone’s available resources. Resources may include a spouse’s income and their contribution towards living expenses.
Eligibility for Supplemental Security Income and the amount of a monthly check is calculated on the number of resources available, including a portion of one’s spouse’s income and contribution towards shared living expenses.
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
Eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance requires one to work in jobs covered by Social Security and have a medical condition that meets Social Security’s strict definition of disability.
How Divorce May Affect Disability Benefits
Supplemental Security Benefits
Supplemental Security Income benefits, calculated based on one’s available resources, may be affected by divorce. Without a spouse’s income, one’s resources may decrease, qualifying one for higher payments.
If one is awarded alimony, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will consider this as a part of their countable, unearned income toward the Supplemental Security Income limit in determining whether payment amount should change. Any changes can result in a decrease in benefits.
Social Security Disability Insurance
When one receives Social Security Disability Insurance based on their work history, payments will not be affected by divorce because the amount of disability payment is based on their personal work history. Benefits may be affected when one begins to pay alimony or child support.
When calculating alimony, Social Security Disability Insurance payments are considered income, while Supplemental Security Income is not.
Related: How to Prove Disability Discrimination in California
Dependents of Social Security Disability Insurance
Divorce may affect payments made to dependents of Social Security Disability Insurance beneficiaries.
Spousal Benefits payments will not be affected unless the marriage lasted less than ten years, the beneficiary gets remarried, or one becomes eligible to receive a larger Social Security benefit under their record.
Divorced Spousal benefits are obtained if one’s ex-spouse qualifies for Social Security Disability Insurance, they were married to the person for over ten years, are at least 62 years old, are currently unmarried, and are not eligible for a large Social Security payment on their record.
To receive Survivor’s Benefits, one must have been married to their qualifying ex-spouse for at least ten years, be at least 50 years old and disabled or over 60, have not been remarried, and not eligible to receive a larger Social Security payment on their record.
One may be eligible for Parental benefits if they are caring for an ex-spouse’s child and the child is under 16 years of age or disabled. This benefit will not be affected by divorce or remarriage. Benefits will continue to be paid until the child is no longer eligible.
VA Disability Benefits
VA disability benefits may not be considered when dividing marital property. They may be used to determine spousal or child support if the veteran waived a portion of retirement pay to receive nontaxable disability benefits.
Related: Can Child Support Be Taken From Disability Benefits?
FAQs About How Divorce Affects Disability Payments
What is social security’s definition of disability?
To have a qualifying disability and receive Social Security disability benefits, one must:
- Be unable to work and engage in substantial gainful activity due to the medical condition
- Be unable to work in the same way they previously have due to a medical condition
- Be unable to adjust to other work because of one’s medical condition
- Have a condition that has lasted or is expected to last for at least one year or result in death.
Are benefits divided in a divorce?
States differ in their approach to dividing marital property in divorces. Some states allocate property on a 50/50 basis, while others follow “equitable division,” where a court determines a fair distribution on a case-by-case basis. Social Security Disability Insurance benefits are not always considered marital property. However, depositing such funds into a joint account can result in a 50/50 division in a state with equal property division divorce statute. Accounts established to hold only SSI or other disability benefits would be exempt from property division.
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