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Social Security represents one of the most triumphant social initiatives in U.S. history, elevating millions of retirees above the poverty line. However, for lifelong single, divorced, and prematurely widowed women, their benefits fall short compared to those of their married counterparts.

A recent examination by sociologists at the University of Michigan and Boston University reveals this inequality. Married seniors receive greater Social Security benefits and display higher household incomes. They also experience lower rates of poverty.

This investigation relies on the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, tracking more than 5,200 white high school graduates aged 18-72 over more than sixty years.

“There’s a prevalent perception that Social Security suffices to elevate older adults from poverty,” stated Pamela Smock, a research professor at the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research and a sociology instructor.

“Though Social Security is a successful social initiative in the U.S., its benefit criteria disadvantage several individuals already vulnerable to financial instability in their later years: divorced individuals, those who were widowed at younger ages, and lifelong singles.”

Social Security regulations specify that divorced individuals can claim only half of their former spouse’s Social Security benefits, and only if their marriage lasted a minimum of 10 years. Shorter unions yield no benefits.

Widowed individuals may receive a survivor’s benefit based on their deceased partner’s earnings, but they encounter penalties if they claim it prematurely. Social Security regulations imply that those who divorced or were widowed at a young age are particularly prone to facing financial difficulties.

What implications do these regulations hold for older adults today? The examination, published in a journal of the Gerontological Society of America and funded by the RRF Foundation for Aging, also explored the experiences of lifelong singles.

“They also encounter significant economic disadvantages in their later years,” remarked Deborah Carr, co-author and professor of sociology at Boston University. “While married individuals can select their individual worker’s benefit or their spouse’s benefit—whichever is more favorable—lifelong singles lack that option.

“They have to depend solely on their own benefit. Compounding the issue, due to factors like singlism (prejudice against lifelong singles), those who have never married tend to earn less during their careers, resulting in minimal Social Security benefits in later life.”

Necessary policy revisions

The investigation indicates that the criteria governing Social Security benefits require updates to align with the dynamics of modern families.

Benefit criteria were originally designed to provide financial stability for women who were mainly homemakers and found themselves financially destitute upon their husbands’ passing.

“The presumption was that they needed a complete survivor’s benefit,” Carr stated. “In the present day, however, divorce serves as the primary exit from marriage, rather than widowhood. Women who have compromised their careers—and earnings—to tend to their families, yet subsequently divorced, would either be ineligible for their ex-spouse’s benefits if they experienced a short marriage or would only receive 50% if their marriage extended beyond 10 years.

“A modification allowing divorced individuals to claim 100% of their ex-spouse’s benefit could effectively safeguard late-life financial stability, particularly for women.”

To assist those in greatest need, policymakers could introduce “caregiver credits” for years spent providing unremunerated care to relatives, the researchers suggested. They might also enhance survivor benefits for widows and widowers and modernize spousal benefit regulations to better reflect contemporary family structures.

What comes next?

The analyses in the research focused on a sample of white older adults.
“We are keen to observe whether similar trends arise when we include Black and Hispanic older adults, particularly because they exhibit higher rates of divorce and premature widowhood compared to whites,” Smock noted. “These familial patterns might further intensify established racial disparities in late-life economic stability.”

In addition to Smock and Carr, Leping Wang of Vanderbilt University is a co-author of the research.

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