One issue that probably won’t come up during a divorce of non-senior citizens is social security retirement benefits.

But it is something that dependent ex-spouses should consider after both ex-spouses have reached 62 years of age, provided the marriage lasted at least 10 years and the dependent spouse is not married to someone else.

Once the dependent spouse applies for benefits, the Social Security Administration will determine whether the applying spouse’s own work record or an ex-spouse’s record will provided greater benefits, and should pay the highest benefit available to the applicant.

Read more in this Providence Journal MoneyLine column: Social Security survives divorce and at the Social Security Administration’s website.