Can I claim retroactive Social Security survivor benefits if I missed spousal benefits when my ex-husband was on SSDI?

Based on what you've described, you probably weren't eligible for spousal benefits on your ex-husband's record when he was alive. To qualify for spousal benefits as a divorced spouse, you generally need to be at least 62 years old, and your ex needs to be entitled to benefits. Since you were only 53 when he passed away, you wouldn't have qualified yet. The good news is that you did the right thing by claiming survivor benefits at 60 due to your health condition. The 10-year marriage duration requirement applies to both spousal and survivor benefits for divorced spouses, and since you were married for 22 years, you met that requirement. One thing to check - did you work enough to earn your own Social Security retirement benefit? If so, now that you're 66 (which is likely your full retirement age or close to it), you might want to see if switching to your own retirement benefit would give you a higher monthly amount than the survivor benefit you're currently receiving.

yea my mom had the same situation but she was older when my dad died. Social security is so confusing!! I think she had to be 62 to get any benefits from his record too.

I work with Social Security cases frequently, and I can clarify a few points here. To receive divorced spouse benefits based on an ex's record: 1. You must be at least 62 years old 2. You must have been married for at least 10 years 3. You must be currently unmarried 4. Your ex must be entitled to benefits Since you were only 53 when your ex-husband passed away, you wouldn't have been eligible for spousal benefits while he was alive, even though he was receiving SSDI. Regarding your current situation, since you're now at full retirement age (66 and 6 months for your birth year), you have some options to consider: 1. Continue receiving the survivor benefits 2. Switch to your own retirement benefit if it would be higher 3. If you haven't already, you could request a benefit calculation from SSA to compare the amounts Unfortunately, there's no retroactive benefit available for the time before you were eligible. You made the right decision by taking survivor benefits at 60 due to your health condition.

I had almost the exact same situation! My ex died when I was 54, and he was on disability too. I had to wait till 60 for survivors benefits too. The SSA told me there was NOTHING I could get before age 60 as a divorced spouse. Those are just the rules, I guess?!? It's pretty ridiculous if you ask me!!

Have you had any luck actually getting through to someone at Social Security to check all this? I spent THREE WEEKS trying to get someone on the phone about my disability application. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a real person at SSA in under 20 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU showing how it works. Saved me hours of frustration and I actually got my questions answered properly instead of guessing about my benefits. Might be worth it to confirm your specific situation rather than relying on general advice here.

The whole system is designed to confuse us and make us miss out on benefits we deserve!! I bet if you talk to a lawyer who specializes in SS benefits they could find a way to get you those back payments. The government counts on people not knowing what they're entitled to!!

Thank you everyone for your helpful responses. I feel much better knowing I didn't actually miss out on benefits I was entitled to. I'm going to stick with my survivor benefits since they're higher than what I'd get on my own record. I appreciate all the information and personal experiences shared here!

My mom went thru something similar and the social security office gave her different answers every time she called!!! So frustrating!! Have you tried going to your local office in person? Sometimes that works better than calling.