WI23-Q2: Social Security Beneficiary Status and Repartnering after Gray Divorce

Increasingly, divorce occurs in the second half of life, a phenomenon termed “gray divorce.” In 1990, fewer than one in ten persons divorcing were aged 50+ whereas today it is one in three. Gray divorce has enduring negative economic consequences, and even those who are age-eligible for Social Security often face economic disadvantage. Repartnering may be a strategy for improving one’s economic well-being and decisions about forming a cohabiting or marital union may partially hinge on one’s Social Security beneficiary status. Many adults who experience gray divorce were married at least 10 years, meaning they may be eligible to receive benefits linked to their ex-spouse. Cohabitation allows partners to retain economic autonomy, ensuring they continue to receive benefits such as Social Security that accrue from an ex-spouse. However, those with fewer economic resources, particularly those ineligible for an ex-spouse’s Social Security benefits, may be more inclined to remarry to gain eligibility for the new spouse’s benefits. Using the 1998-2018 Health and Retirement Study, we will decipher how Social Security beneficiary status (eligible from own work history, eligible from ex-spouse work history, receiving own benefits, receiving ex-spouse benefits) upon divorce is associated with remarriage versus cohabitation. Those receiving ex-spouse benefits should be least likely to remarry and most likely to cohabit to preserve their benefits. We also assess gender and racial-ethnic disparities in the role of beneficiary status on repartnering. Our findings will help the Social Security Administration to better understand how beneficiary status intertwines with later life divorce and repartnering.