I'm in a very similar situation with my disabled adult son who receives DAC benefits from his deceased father. After going through this process myself, I can confirm that your strategy is sound - taking survivor benefits early while letting your own retirement grow is exactly what I did. The key point everyone has made is correct: your son's DAC benefits are completely separate from your survivor benefits, even though they're both based on your husband's record. When you eventually switch to your own retirement benefits at 70, your son will continue receiving his DAC benefits from his father's record. One thing I learned that might help: when you apply, be very specific about what you're requesting. Tell them you want to file a "restricted application for survivor benefits only" and that you want to delay your own retirement benefits until age 70. This helps ensure they process it correctly. Also, I'd recommend applying about 3 months before you turn 65 to avoid any processing delays. The SSA can take time to get everything set up properly, and you don't want to miss any payments while they sort things out. Your son's $1,850 monthly payment should remain stable throughout this entire process. The only time it might change is if there are annual cost-of-living adjustments that affect all Social Security recipients.

As someone who works with Social Security disability cases, I want to emphasize something that several people have touched on but bears repeating: make sure you get everything in writing from SSA. When you call to set up your restricted application for survivor benefits, ask them to send you a written confirmation of what benefits you'll be receiving and confirmation that your son's DAC benefits will remain unchanged. I've seen too many cases where verbal assurances from SSA representatives didn't match what actually happened in their system. Having that written documentation becomes crucial if there are any processing errors down the line. Also, keep copies of your son's current benefit statements and your own earnings record. If any issues arise later, you'll have baseline documentation to reference. The strategy you're planning is absolutely valid and should work exactly as others have described, but SSA's computer systems sometimes flag changes that shouldn't affect other beneficiaries, so having your paperwork organized ahead of time can save you months of headaches if something goes wrong.

Welcome to this community! I'm new here but wanted to share what I learned when helping my sister navigate a similar situation. One thing that really helped her was getting a personalized benefit estimate from SSA that showed her projected benefits under different scenarios - claiming at 62 vs 67, her own record vs ex-spouse benefits, etc. You can request this through your mySocialSecurity account or by calling SSA directly. Also, since you mentioned financial struggles, you might want to look into whether you qualify for any state or local assistance programs for people in your age group - things like utility assistance, food programs, or even job training grants that could help you increase your current income while you're waiting to claim benefits. Every little bit helps when you're planning for the future!

Hi Amina! As someone who went through a similar divorce situation at 54, I wanted to add a few practical tips that helped me. First, definitely create that mySocialSecurity account everyone mentioned - it's a game-changer for planning. But also consider this: since you're 56 now, you might want to explore if there are any career re-entry programs in your area specifically for women returning to work after divorce. Many community colleges and workforce development centers offer these, sometimes with financial assistance. Also, if you haven't already, consider consulting with a fee-only financial planner who specializes in divorce recovery - they can help you create a comprehensive strategy that looks at all your options together, not just Social Security. The investment in professional advice often pays for itself in better decision-making. You've got 11 years to optimize your situation before full retirement age, which is actually a decent runway if you approach it strategically!

Thank you all so much for the helpful responses! Based on everything here, I think my best option is to: 1. Get the exact benefit amounts for both of us 2. Use that Claimyr service to actually speak with someone at SSA about our specific situation 3. Probably delay taking any benefits until at least my FRA (67) if not 70, since my benefit would be significantly higher than any spousal benefit I'm disappointed that I can't use the strategy I was hoping for, but I'm glad I asked before making a mistake! This forum has been so much more helpful than the confusing SSA website.

Just wanted to add one more consideration that I don't see mentioned yet - make sure to factor in taxes when you're doing your calculations! SSDI benefits can be taxable depending on your total household income, and so can retirement benefits. Since you're still working and presumably have other income sources, taking benefits early could push you into a higher tax bracket or make more of your benefits taxable. A tax professional who specializes in retirement planning might be worth consulting before you make your final decision. Also, if you do decide to wait until 70, remember that you MUST start taking benefits by April 1st of the year after you turn 70 - there's no advantage to waiting beyond that point, and you could actually lose benefits if you delay too long.

Thank you all for the helpful information! I tried calling SSA this morning but couldn't get through after waiting for over an hour. I'll try again tomorrow and might try that Claimyr service if I can't get through. I'm still working and have decent income, so I'm not worried about my own benefits, but it bothers me if he's getting something he's not entitled to. I'll update once I learn more about what's actually going on.

Just wanted to add some perspective from someone who works in benefits administration - this situation is actually more common than you might think. SSA processes millions of claims and sometimes errors do slip through, especially with complex eligibility rules like divorced spouse benefits. When you do get through to them, be prepared with specific information: your ex-husband's full name, approximate date he started receiving benefits, and the fact that he remarried before age 60 while still married. Also, don't be surprised if the first representative you speak with needs to transfer you to someone more specialized - divorced spouse benefit rules are tricky and not all front-line staff are fully trained on them. The good news is that once you report a potential issue, they take it seriously and will investigate thoroughly.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful information! I think I understand now that since my benefit will be about double his, and his SSDI is likely equal to his PIA, he probably won't qualify for any spousal top-up. I'll definitely verify his exact PIA figure though. I appreciate all the explanations - this stuff is so complicated!

You're welcome! Just to add one more thing - even though it looks like your husband won't get a spousal top-up based on the numbers you've shared, it's still worth having SSA run the calculation when you file for retirement benefits. Sometimes there can be small differences in how benefits were calculated originally, or other factors that aren't immediately obvious. Plus, once you start receiving retirement benefits, your husband will automatically be checked for spousal eligibility, so you don't have to do anything extra to make sure he gets the maximum he's entitled to.