Can I claim Social Security spousal benefits from ex-husband at 70 while waiting for my own SS approval?

Yes, you may be eligible for ex-spousal benefits, but it works a bit differently than you're thinking. You don't get BOTH your full benefit AND his. Instead, SSA will pay you your own retirement benefit first, and if your ex-spousal benefit would be higher, they add the difference as a \

Thank you for explaining that. I wasn't clear on how the \

i was in similar situation. divorced after 18 yrs. waited till 68 to file. the ssa rep looked up my ex's record right there during my application!! didnt need to contact him at all. they have all that in their system already. they check automatically which is better 4 u.

This is correct. When you apply for retirement benefits, SSA will automatically check if you qualify for higher benefits as an ex-spouse. You don't need to contact your ex-husband or provide anything except proof of marriage and divorce (marriage certificate and final divorce decree). The system already has his earnings record linked to your Social Security number through your marriage history.The important thing is to specifically mention your ex-spouse and the length of marriage when applying so they check for this potential additional benefit. Sometimes this gets overlooked if you don't bring it up.

You ABSOLUTLY should apply for the divorced spouse benefits!!! My sister got an extra $627 a month from her ex's record even tho she waited til 68 for her own benfits!! The SSA people DONT alwasy tell you about this! They make you ASK for it specfiically!! And you DEFINATLY dont need to talk to your ex about it - he doesn't even get notified when you claim on his record! His benefits dont get reduced at ALL so don't worry about that either!!

While your sister may have received ex-spousal benefits, it's misleading to suggest everyone will get additional money. The math matters here. At age 70, the original poster has maximized her own benefit with delayed retirement credits (+32% above her FRA amount). For her to get any

Has anyone had any luck actually getting through to SS to ask questions like this? I've been trying for weeks to get someone on the phone about my own divorce/benefits situation and I keep getting disconnected after waiting for hours!!

I had the exact same problem trying to ask about my divorced spouse benefits last month. After getting disconnected 4 times and wasting entire mornings on hold, I tried a service called Claimyr that got me through to a real person at SSA in under 20 minutes. It basically holds your place in line and calls you when an agent is available. Saved me so much frustration! I watched their demo video first (https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU) and it worked exactly like they showed. Their website is claimyr.com if you want to check it out. Way better than the constant busy signals and disconnects.

Thank you!! I'm going to try this right now. I'm desperate to talk to someone before my appointment next week.

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I'm relieved to hear I don't need to contact my ex-husband to find out if I qualify for any additional benefits based on his record. I'll definitely mention the potential ex-spousal benefits when I follow up about my pending application. To clarify my work history - I did work part-time for about 15 years while raising our children, then went full-time for the last 20+ years after the divorce, but at a nonprofit with modest salary. I'm guessing my own maximized benefit might still be lower than 50% of his PIA since he was an engineer with a major corporation for 40 years. I'll report back once I get a determination. The wait is making me anxious!

Given your updated work history details, you might indeed qualify for some amount of ex-spousal top-up. The key factors that will determine this are:1. Your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) based on your own work record2. Your ex-husband's PIA (not including his delayed retirement credits)With 20+ years of full-time work after a period of part-time work, your own benefit may be substantial, but the ex-spousal benefit is definitely worth checking. One important note: When you speak with SSA, make sure they understand you're inquiring about divorced spouse benefits, not survivor benefits. These are different programs with different rules, and sometimes representatives confuse them during conversations.

Thank you for that clarification! I'll make sure to be very specific about divorced spouse benefits versus survivor benefits. I really appreciate all this helpful information - it's much clearer than what I could find on the SSA website.

btw dont forget u need the marriage certificate and divorce papers when u go to the office! i forgot mine and had to go back a second time and wait all over again!!

Oh, that's a great reminder! I have my divorce decree somewhere in my files, but I'll need to find my marriage certificate. I hope they'll accept a copy - the original is probably in a box somewhere in my attic. I'll search for both documents this weekend.

Just to add a data point: Most people who've maximized their own benefit by waiting until 70 won't qualify for ex-spousal benefits unless there was a very significant earnings disparity during their working years. The 50% of ex-spouse's PIA is compared against your own PIA plus your delayed retirement credits (32% at age 70).In 2025, the maximum Social Security benefit for someone filing at age 70 is approximately $4,873/month. The maximum PIA (which is what the ex-spousal benefit is based on) is around $3,822/month. So the maximum ex-spousal benefit possible would be $1,911/month (50% of maximum PIA).If your own benefit at 70 exceeds $1,911/month, you won't receive any ex-spousal top-up.

But those numbers are for people who earned the MAXIMUM taxable amount for 35 years!! Most normal people dont earn anywhere near that much!! My ex was a plummer making decent money but my divoriced benefits were still way higher than my own retirement even tho I waited!!!

Does anyone know if they backpay these ex-spouse benefits? Like if they determine you qualify, do they go back to when you first applied or is it just going forward?

Great question. If you're approved for ex-spousal benefits when applying for retirement, any additional amount would start from your entitlement date - usually the month after you apply for benefits. However, if you're already receiving your own retirement benefits and later apply for ex-spousal benefits, SSA can provide up to 6 months of retroactive benefits (but not going back further than your full retirement age).In the original poster's case, since she's applying for both at roughly the same time at age 70, the benefits would start together from her application date with no significant retroactive payment likely.

Thanks! That makes sense. I've been on disability for years but I'm approaching retirement age so trying to figure out how all this works.