A court ruled for the first time that Social Security payments can be used as alimony between divorced partners.

The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled this month that federal law allows Social Security money to be used for payments from one ex-spouse to another. Alimony is usually paid to an ex-spouse after a divorce if one partner has significantly less or no income.

At issue in the case was a provision of a federal law that states that Social Security benefits cannot be “transferable” or “assignable.” However, another legal provision states that Social Security benefits are subject to alimony payments as income.

Judge David H. Yun wrote that judges may “consider Social Security retirement benefits, as well as other non-allocated federal benefits, in awarding alimony or child support, even in cases where the order effectively results in an implied award of these benefits”.

Alimony historically only applied to ex-spouses with a wide income gap, so that the higher earner could support the lower earner after divorce. Many times, low-wage earners sacrificed their careers to care for children or otherwise support the home in a less monetary way.

In this particular Colorado case, Riley McClure paid his ex-wife $2,500 in monthly alimony. Once McClure reached retirement and began receiving Social Security, he hoped to reduce his alimony claims and was then required to use his benefits to cover his spouse’s alimony payments.

McClure argued that this was against federal law, but the Court of Appeals ruled that it is permissible and that Social Security income can be included when calculating what one spouse owes the other financially after a divorce.

“Although it may come as a surprise to some, past legal decisions have at least partially supported the idea of ​​Social Security being used as a means of paying alimony,” said Alex Beene, a professor of financial literacy at the University of Tennessee at Martin. Newsweek. “This is especially true in cases where a judge believes that an ex-spouse should continue to make payments, but because he or she qualifies for Social Security, the amount of those payments is reduced.”

Kevin Thompson, financial expert and founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group, said that for most seniors, the alimony decision is a non-issue. If you were married for at least 10 years before your divorce, your ex-spouse may be eligible to receive benefits on your record, according to the Social Security Administration.

“Most seniors have likely been with their spouses for more than 10 years, and the Social Security spousal benefit can offset any claims on their retirement benefits,” Thompson said. Newsweek. “This may affect older people, possibly in the sense of separation versus actual divorce. I would predict that older people may affect actually filing for separation versus final divorce, achieving the number of years it takes to not affect their Social Security benefits.”

If there is a large income gap between the ex-spouses and there is a significant shift in monthly income, including Social Security, there will still be a possibility of a reduction in the alimony payment, Beene said.

“At the same time, decisions like this will more than likely be contested,” Beene said. “As seniors face the rising costs of inflation, a case could be made for full protection of Social Security benefits, regardless of alimony or similar payments.”