Social Security Strategy for Divorcees & Widows

Social Security Strategy for Divorcees & Widows

From Women & Wealth by Regina Hess

April 15, 2026 · 22 min

About this episode

Regina Hess discusses Social Security benefits for divorced spouses and widows, highlighting important rules and strategies for maximizing retirement income.

A lot of women have no idea they may still be entitled to Social Security benefits tied to an ex-spouse. In this week's episode, Regina unpacks what divorced spouses, widows, and widowers need to know, including the rules that apply, how much may be available, and why filing too early can cost you far more than you realize. She also walks through real examples that show how a smart claiming strategy can make a meaningful difference in your long-term retirement income. Episode Highlights: 0:00 - Intro 0:52 - Rules first! 5:24 - 2 factors to consider for the spousal benefit 7:12 - The survivor benefit 10:04 - Calculating and using or 'turning on' the benefits 14:01 - Circling back to the survivor benefit 15:17 - The drawback of taking it earlier 20:48 - Call to action ABOUT REGINA MCCANN HESS Regina is the author of Super Woman Wealth: How to Become Your Own Financial Hero. As an advocate for women's financial freedom, she wrote this book to help empower women to take a bigger role in handling their money. Regina has appeared on Schwab TV, Yahoo Finance, Forbes.com, NTD Television, CBS 3 Philadelphia, Fox 29 Philadelphia, King 5 Seattle, KTLA 5 Los Angeles and Scripps News. She has…

People in this episode

Host: Regina Hess

Topics covered

  • Social Security
  • Divorce
  • Widows
  • Retirement Planning
  • Financial Strategy
  • Women's Financial Empowerment

Keywords

  • Social Security
  • divorce
  • widows
  • retirement income
  • claiming strategy
  • financial planning
  • benefits

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Schwab TV, Yahoo Finance, Forbes.com, NTD Television, CBS 3 Philadelphia, Fox 29 Philadelphia, King 5 Seattle, KTLA 5 Los Angeles, Scripps News, Forbes

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