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Social Security is one of the most successful social programs in U.S. history, lifting millions of retirees out of poverty. But for lifelong single, divorced and prematurely widowed women, their benefits lag behind those of their married peers.

A new by University of Michigan and Boston University sociologists published in The Gerontologist shows this disparity. Married older adults receive higher Social Security benefits and have higher household incomes. They also have lower poverty rates.

The research is based on the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, which follows more than 5,200 white high school graduates ages 18–72, spanning more than six decades.

"There's a widespread belief that Social Security is sufficient to lift older adults out of poverty," said Pamela Smock, research professor in the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research and a professor of sociology.

"Although Social Security is a successful social program in the U.S., its benefit rules disadvantage some people who are already at risk of financial insecurity in old age: divorced people, those who were widowed at younger ages and lifelong singles."

Social Security rules stipulate that divorced people can claim only half of their ex-spouse's Social Security benefits, and only if they were married for at least 10 years. Shorter marriages mean no benefits.

Widowed people can get a survivor's benefit based on their late spouse's earnings, but they face a penalty if they claim it early. Social Security rules mean that people who divorced or widowed young are especially likely to experience financial hardship.

What do these rules mean for older adults today? The study also looked at people who are lifelong singles.

"They also face steep economic disadvantages in old age," said Deborah Carr, co-author and professor of sociology at Boston University. "While married people can choose their own worker's benefit or their spouse's benefit—whichever is larger—lifelong singles don't have that choice.

"They have only their own benefit to rely on. Making things worse, due to factors like singlism (discrimination against lifelong singles), those who have never married have lower earnings in their working years and thus more meager Social Security benefits in old age."

Overdue policy updates

The research suggests that the rules governing Social Security benefits need to be updated to reflect the realities of contemporary families.

Benefits rules were initially structured to provide economic security for women who were primarily housewives and who would be devastated financially when their husbands died.

"The assumption was that they required a full survivor's benefit," Carr said. "Today, however, divorce is the primary pathway out of marriage, rather than widowhood. Women who have sacrificed their careers—and earnings—to care for their families, yet later divorced, would either be ineligible for their ex-spouse's benefits if they had a short marriage or would receive just 50% if they had a 10+ year marriage.

"A policy change that allowed divorced people to claim 100% of their ex-spouse's benefit might be an effective way to ensure late-life economic security, especially for women."

To help those most in need, policymakers could create "caregiver credits" for years spent providing unpaid care to family members, the researchers said. They could also increase survivor benefits for widows and widowers, and modernize spousal benefit rules to reflect how families work and live today.

What is next?

The analyses in the study were based on a sample of white older adults.

"We are eager to see whether similar patterns emerge when we also include Black and Hispanic older adults, especially because they have higher rates of divorce and premature widowhood relative to whites," Smock said. "These family patterns may further exacerbate well-established racial disparities in late-life economic security."