What every woman should know about social security
Social security pays retirement benefits based on your own earnings record, and it may also pay spousal, divorced spouse and survivor benefits based on a partner's record. The age you start changes the monthly amount for life. Create your online account with the social security office, check that every year of earnings is recorded, and ask the office which benefits you may qualify for.
Why it matters: Spousal and survivor rules matter more to women, and few people read them before they need them.
Steps
- Create your personal online account on the official social security website, typing the address yourself.
- Download your earnings record and check each year against your old tax returns or pay records.
- Report any missing or wrong year to the social security office with your proof.
- Read your estimate at different starting ages to see how the timing changes the monthly amount.
- If you were married for ten years or more and are now divorced, ask whether you may qualify for a divorced spouse benefit.
- If a spouse or former spouse has died, ask the office about survivor benefits as soon as you can.
- Write your questions down before any appointment and note the name of the office and date of each call.
Stop and call a professional if
- you are deciding when to claim and want the decision checked; ask the social security office and consider a fee-only advisor
- you are widowed or divorced and unsure which benefits apply; call the social security office directly
Questions to ask the professional
- Which benefits am I eligible for on my own record and on a spouse's or former spouse's record?
- How would my monthly amount change if I started at a later age?
Common mistakes
- Never checking the earnings record until retirement, when old errors are hard to prove.
- Assuming a divorce ended any claim on a former spouse's record.
- Deciding when to start benefits without seeing the estimates at different ages.
- Giving your number to a caller who says they are from the office; the real office does not threaten or demand payment by phone.
Outside the US or in another state: This describes the US program. Other countries run state pensions with different credit, spouse and survivor rules; check your national pension service.
Teach this to someone
A one page sheet for showing a friend, a teenager or a parent: what to say, what to show, and one question to check it landed.
Teach: What every woman should know about social security
What to say
Social security pays retirement benefits based on your own earnings record, and it may also pay spousal, divorced spouse and survivor benefits based on a partner's record. The age you start changes the monthly amount for life. Create your online account with the social security office, check that every year of earnings is recorded, and ask the office which benefits you may qualify for.
What to show
- Create your personal online account on the official social security website, typing the address yourself.
- Download your earnings record and check each year against your old tax returns or pay records.
- Report any missing or wrong year to the social security office with your proof.
- Read your estimate at different starting ages to see how the timing changes the monthly amount.
- If you were married for ten years or more and are now divorced, ask whether you may qualify for a divorced spouse benefit.
- If a spouse or former spouse has died, ask the office about survivor benefits as soon as you can.
- Write your questions down before any appointment and note the name of the office and date of each call.
Where it stops
Stop and call a professional if you are deciding when to claim and want the decision checked; ask the social security office and consider a fee-only advisor.
Check question
What should you check every year in your online account?
Answer: That each year of earnings is recorded. Benefits are based on your earnings record, so missing years lower them.
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Sources
- US social security program publications on spouses, divorce and survivors, 2026. Reviewed September 28, 2026.
Written in our own words from the sources above. It is general information, not advice for your situation; where a professional, your doctor or your lease says something different, follow them.
Last reviewed . First published .