Can I claim Social Security spousal benefits from ex-husband while on SSDI for 15 years?
I'm trying to figure out if I'm leaving money on the table with my Social Security situation. I'm 64 and have been receiving SSDI benefits for the past 15 years due to a chronic health condition. I also get a long-term disability check from my former employer's insurance. My ex-husband and I were married for 35 years before divorcing 9 years ago. He plans to retire and claim Social Security when he turns 65 in about 2 years. Since we were married well over the 10-year requirement, am I eligible for any spousal benefits based on his earnings record even though I'm already getting SSDI? My SSDI payment is about $1,850 monthly. I've heard conflicting things about whether you can receive both types of benefits at the same time or if I'd have to wait until I reach my full retirement age. Any advice would be really appreciated!
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Jacob Lewis
Yes, you might be eligible for divorced spousal benefits, but whether you'll actually receive additional money depends on the amount of your ex's benefit. The maximum you can receive as an ex-spouse is 50% of your ex-husband's primary insurance amount (PIA). However, since you're already collecting SSDI, you'll only get the HIGHER of either your disability benefit OR the spousal benefit, not both combined. So if 50% of your ex's benefit is more than your current $1,850 SSDI, you'd get a "top-up" to reach that amount. But if your SSDI is higher (which it sounds like it might be), you won't receive any additional money.
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Mia Rodriguez
•Thank you for explaining this! Based on his income over the years, I think his benefit will probably be around $3,200, so 50% would be $1,600 - less than my current SSDI. So it sounds like I wouldn't get anything additional? One more question - when I reach full retirement age, does anything change with how this works?
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Amelia Martinez
FROM MY EXPERIENCE, the SSA system is SO CONFUSING on this!! When I applied for my ex-spouse benefits they kept telling me different things each time I called! First they said I couldn't get anything because I had my own benefit, then another person said I could!!! It took MONTHS to sort out. My advice - call SSA directly and ask for a benefit calculation. Don't trust what anyone here says (including me lol). Be prepared to wait on hold FOREVER though!!!!
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Ethan Clark
•omg THIS!! i called 5 times and got 5 different answers about my survivor benefits. the last rep actually told me the previous 4 people gave me wrong info! how are we supposed to plan our lives with this kind of service?
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Mila Walker
This is a classic SSA dual entitlement situation. Based on your description: 1. Your SSDI will automatically convert to retirement benefits at your Full Retirement Age (FRA) 2. You can apply for divorced spousal benefits since you were married >10 years and have been divorced >2 years 3. You will receive your own benefit amount PLUS any excess spousal benefit IF the spousal amount exceeds your own With your SSDI at $1,850, if your ex-spouse's PIA results in a spousal benefit less than that, you'll continue receiving just your benefit. If it's higher, you'd get your benefit plus the difference. I recommend contacting SSA 3-6 months before your ex turns 65 to file a restricted application for divorced spousal benefits. This ensures SSA will automatically calculate and pay any additional benefits once your ex files.
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Logan Scott
•Quick question - does the ex husband actually need to file for his benefits before she can claim on his record? I thought with divorced spouse benefits you can claim even if the ex hasn't filed yet, as long as they're eligible for benefits (62+) and you've been divorced for at least 2 years? thats what ssa website says i think
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Mila Walker
•You're absolutely right, and thank you for the correction. For divorced spouse benefits, if you've been divorced for at least 2 years (which the OP has), the ex-spouse does NOT need to have filed for benefits - they just need to be eligible for benefits. So the OP could potentially file for divorced spouse benefits once her ex reaches 62, regardless of whether he actually files then or waits. However, the calculation about which benefit amount is higher still applies.
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Chloe Green
If you're having trouble reaching someone at Social Security to get clear answers on your situation (which can be extremely frustrating), you might want to try Claimyr. It's a service that helps you skip the long hold times when calling SSA. I was on hold for hours trying to sort out a similar benefits question until I found them. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU or visit claimyr.com. It connected me to an agent in about 20 minutes instead of the 2+ hours I was experiencing before. Once I got through, the agent was able to look at my specific situation and calculate exactly what I qualified for.
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Mia Rodriguez
•Thank you for this suggestion! I've tried calling SSA twice this month and hung up after being on hold for over an hour both times. I'll check out that video and see if it might help me finally get through to someone who can look at my specific case.
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Lucas Adams
my aunt was married 22 yrs and got divorced and she gets half of her exs social security and her own. shes getting like $3200 total i think. but her ex was some big shot lawyer who made tons of $$$ so his benefit was way higher than hers. probably not helpful for ur situation but just saying its possible to get both sometimes
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Jacob Lewis
•Actually, your aunt isn't getting "both" in the way you think. She's getting her own benefit plus the excess amount that brings her up to 50% of her ex's benefit. The SSA doesn't award two full benefits - they pay the higher of the two, which in her case means her own benefit plus an additional amount to reach 50% of her ex's. The way they explain it can be confusing, but it's important to understand how the calculation works.
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Ethan Clark
is your LTD insurance reducing your payment because your getting SSDI? most policies do that. mine takes every dollar of my ssdi away from what they pay me. if you get more ssdi from the ex spouse thing your LTD might just reduce your payment anyway so you end up with the same total. check your ltd policy!!
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Mia Rodriguez
•That's a really good point I hadn't considered! Yes, my LTD policy does offset for SSDI payments. So even if I did qualify for additional Social Security money, my total income might not increase because the LTD would just reduce their portion. I'll have to double-check my policy language about whether ex-spouse benefits would be treated the same way as my SSDI for the offset calculation. This is getting complicated quickly!
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Mila Walker
Based on the numbers you've shared in your comments, if your SSDI is $1,850 and 50% of your ex's potential benefit would be around $1,600, you wouldn't receive any additional amount through divorced spouse benefits. Your own benefit is higher. Regarding what happens at Full Retirement Age (FRA): 1. Your SSDI automatically converts to retirement benefits at the same amount 2. There's no longer a disability designation, but the payment continues 3. The divorced spouse benefit calculation remains identical The one advantage of reaching FRA is that if you wanted to delay your own retirement benefit to earn delayed retirement credits (8% per year until age 70), you could potentially take ONLY the spousal benefit while letting your own benefit grow. However, in your case, since the spousal benefit amount is lower, this strategy wouldn't make financial sense. As another commenter mentioned, definitely verify how any changes would affect your LTD payments, as those often have offset provisions for any type of Social Security benefits.
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Mia Rodriguez
•Thank you so much for this detailed explanation. It really clarifies things for me. It sounds like in my specific situation, there's probably no financial advantage to applying for the divorced spouse benefit since my own SSDI/retirement benefit is higher. And with the LTD offset, I'd likely end up with the same total income anyway. I appreciate everyone's help in figuring this out!
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