As someone who just went through a similar situation with my own divorce, I can confirm what others have said here. The key thing to remember is that Social Security looks at your marital status at the time you apply for benefits, not what happened in between. Your ex-wife can absolutely claim on your record since you were married 17 years (well over the 10-year requirement) and she's currently unmarried after her second divorce ended. The length of that second marriage doesn't matter at all - could have been 6 months or 6 years. However, given what you mentioned about her being a teacher with a pension, the Government Pension Offset (GPO) that Miguel mentioned could be a major factor. GPO can significantly reduce or even eliminate spousal benefits for people receiving government pensions. She really needs to get specific calculations from SSA to see if claiming on your record would even provide any benefit after GPO is applied. My advice: both of you should create accounts on ssa.gov to see your estimated benefits, and then she should definitely speak with an SSA representative about how GPO would affect her situation specifically.

I'm dealing with a somewhat similar situation right now. My ex-husband and I were married for 12 years before divorcing in 2018. He remarried in 2020, but I heard through mutual friends that he's now separated and likely heading for divorce. From what I understand based on the responses here, if his second marriage officially ends, I would still be eligible to claim on his record when I reach 62 (I'm 58 now) since our marriage exceeded 10 years and I've remained unmarried. Is that correct? It's honestly frustrating how complicated these rules are. I've been putting off learning about Social Security benefits because it seemed so confusing, but reading this thread has been really helpful in understanding the basics. The GPO issue doesn't apply to me since I work in the private sector, but I can see how that would complicate things significantly for teachers and other government employees. Thanks to everyone sharing their knowledge and experiences - it's much clearer now than trying to navigate the SSA website alone!

I'm a Social Security disability attorney, and I want to add something important that hasn't been mentioned yet. When you go to your appointment next Tuesday, also ask about the "protective filing date." If your mother calls SSA today or tomorrow to report her intent to file for survivor benefits, they should establish a protective filing date that could help with retroactive benefits even before your in-person appointment. A protective filing date essentially "holds your place in line" and can sometimes extend the retroactive period beyond what would normally be available. This is especially important in survivor benefit cases where there may have been a communication breakdown. Also, bring a written statement detailing exactly what happened - when your father died, that no one from SSA contacted your family about survivor benefits, and that your mother continued receiving only her own benefit. Having this in writing helps ensure nothing gets missed during what can be an overwhelming appointment. One last tip: if the local office can't help with the good cause determination, ask about filing an appeal or having the case reviewed at the regional level. Sometimes different levels of the organization have different perspectives on these situations. Best of luck with your appointment - your preparation and advocacy for your mother is exactly what she needs right now.

I'm so sorry your family is dealing with this - it's such a common and heartbreaking situation. As someone who went through something similar with my grandmother, I wanted to share one more resource that really helped us. Before your Tuesday appointment, consider contacting your local AARP chapter or senior center. Many have volunteer tax preparers and benefits counselors who are very familiar with Social Security issues. They might be able to review your documentation beforehand or even accompany you to the appointment. Also, when you call tomorrow to establish that protective filing date (which is excellent advice!), make sure to get the representative's name and ask for a confirmation number or reference number for your call. This creates additional documentation that could be helpful later. One thing that worked for my grandmother was bringing a simple calculation showing exactly how much money she missed out on over the months she should have been receiving survivor benefits. Sometimes seeing the actual dollar amount helps representatives understand the real impact and take the case more seriously. You're doing such an important thing advocating for your mother. Even if you can't recover all the back payments, getting her onto the correct benefit amount going forward will make such a difference in her quality of life. Please keep us updated on how it goes!

One more important point - if your sister is planning to claim retirement on her own work record eventually, she needs to understand the strategy carefully. She can: 1. Take reduced survivor benefits now and later switch to her own retirement (which would continue growing until age 70) 2. Take her own reduced retirement at 62 and later switch to full survivor benefits at her full retirement age Which option is better depends on their respective earnings records. The local SSA office can run calculations to show which would give her more money long-term. Just make sure whoever she speaks with understands she wants to compare these two strategies.

I'm sorry for your family's loss. Based on what you've shared, your sister should definitely be eligible for survivor benefits since they were still legally married when he passed away. The separation doesn't matter - only the legal marital status counts. A few things to keep in mind: At 58, she can get reduced survivor benefits (around 71.5% of what she'd receive at full retirement age). However, since she's earning about $24,000, which is above the 2025 earnings limit of $22,320, her benefits will be reduced by $1 for every $2 she earns over that limit. She should apply as soon as possible since survivor benefits generally can't be paid retroactively before the application date. She'll need their marriage certificate, his death certificate, both Social Security numbers, and her birth certificate. Given her work history, it might be worth having SSA calculate whether it's better to take reduced survivor benefits now and switch to her own retirement benefit later, or take her own reduced retirement at 62 and switch to full survivor benefits at her full retirement age. The office can run these scenarios for her.

One more thing to consider that I don't think has been mentioned - if you're planning to work until 70 anyway, you might want to look into whether your employer offers a high-deductible health plan with an HSA option. Since you'll be on Medicare already, you can't contribute to an HSA anymore, but if you have one from before 65, you can still use it for medical expenses tax-free. This could help offset some of the tax burden from having both your $70K salary and SS benefits taxed together. Also, some people in your situation consider doing Roth conversions during the gap years between FRA and 70 when they're not taking SS yet - gives you more control over your tax brackets in retirement. Just another angle to think about as you're crunching those numbers!

Great question and really smart of you to research this thoroughly before making the decision! I'm currently 68 and went through this same analysis two years ago. Here's what I wish someone had told me: The math really does favor waiting until 70 if you can swing it financially, especially with your income level. That guaranteed 8% return is hard to beat anywhere else. But there's also a psychological factor - having that SS check coming in while you're still working gives you more flexibility if your work situation changes unexpectedly. One practical tip: consider doing a "test run" with your budget. Calculate what your monthly expenses would be if you were only living on your $70K salary (minus taxes, 401k contributions, etc.) and see how comfortable that feels. If you can live well on just your work income, that makes the case for waiting until 70 much stronger since you're not sacrificing your lifestyle. Also, don't forget that your SS benefit will get annual COLA increases once you start collecting, so that higher base amount from waiting pays dividends every year through cost of living adjustments. The difference compounds over time!

Great point about IRMAA surcharges! That's something many people overlook. The Medicare high-income surcharges are based on your tax return from 2 years prior, so a large lump sum in 2025 could definitely impact your Medicare premiums in 2027. For someone in your situation still working with good income, you might want to run the numbers on whether spreading the benefit start over two tax years (like the January 2026 filing strategy mentioned earlier) could help you avoid crossing the IRMAA thresholds. The first IRMAA tier starts at $106,000 for individuals in 2025, and it goes up from there. Also, don't forget that if you do end up with a big tax bill from the retroactive benefits, you might need to make estimated tax payments to avoid underpayment penalties. The IRS doesn't care that it all came in one lump sum - they expect you to pay quarterly if you're going to owe more than $1,000.

As a newcomer to this community, I'm amazed at how many nuanced factors go into Social Security timing decisions! Reading through all these responses has been incredibly educational. @Dominic Green, your situation sounds similar to what my parents might face soon. One thing I'm wondering about - has anyone here worked with a tax professional specifically on Social Security timing strategies? With all these interconnected issues (IRMAA, estimated payments, bracket management, state taxes potentially), it seems like the complexity might warrant professional guidance beyond just calling SSA directly. Also, for those who've gone through this process, how accurate were your initial benefit estimates from the SSA website compared to what you actually received? I'm helping my parents plan and want to make sure we're working with realistic numbers for all these tax calculations. Thanks to everyone sharing their real experiences - it's so much more valuable than just reading the official SSA publications!