Somebody you were married to thirty years ago dies, and your Social Security benefit can double.
That is not an exaggeration. It is the actual mechanic.
While a former spouse is living, you can claim up to 50% of their full retirement age benefit. When they die, that ceiling rises to 100%.
Same marriage. Same record. Twice the money.
Now the part that costs people the most.
Nobody tells you. Social Security does not monitor your former spouse's mortality on your behalf. There is no letter. There is no automatic adjustment. If you are collecting a divorced spouse benefit and your ex dies, your check stays exactly the same until you call and ask.
People collect half when they could be collecting all, sometimes for years, because they did not know the person had died or did not know it mattered.
And there is a second layer that makes this even more valuable, which is that survivor benefits are the last corner of Social Security where you can still switch strategies. We will get to that.
Here is everything that changes when a former spouse dies.