Can I claim spousal Social Security benefits when my ex turns 62 if I'm already receiving my own SS?

i thought you couldn't get ex spousal unless they're actually collecting ss already?? my neighbor waited 3 yrs until her ex started collecting

I can help clarify this for you. Your ex-spouse does NOT need to be collecting Social Security benefits for you to claim divorced spouse benefits. However, he DOES need to be eligible for benefits (meaning he's at least 62 years old). Since your ex won't turn 62 until December 2025, you'll need to wait until then before you can file for divorced spouse benefits on his record. Also, remember these important requirements for divorced spouse benefits: - Your marriage lasted at least 10 years (you said 22, so you're covered) - You must be unmarried (if you remarried, you generally can't claim on an ex's record) - You must be at least 62 yourself (you are) When he turns 62 in December 2025, contact SSA to apply for the divorced spouse benefit. If 50% of his Primary Insurance Amount is higher than your current benefit, you'll receive the difference as a supplement to your own benefit.

I HATE how SSA gives different answers depending on who you talk to!!! When I was trying to figure out my widower benefits last year, I called THREE TIMES and got THREE DIFFERENT ANSWERS about how much I was entitled to. It's like they don't even train their people properly. And their website is so confusing. No wonder everyone's always confused about their benefits.

I went through almost this exact situation! My ex is 4 years younger than me. I had to wait until he turned 62 even though I was already collecting my own retirement. The good news is you don't need his cooperation at all. When I applied, I just needed: 1. Our marriage certificate 2. Divorce decree 3. His SSN (if you don't have it, SSA can usually find it) 4. My birth certificate Once he turns 62, contact them right away. It took about 6 weeks for mine to process, but then I got a nice increase over what I was receiving on my own record. They'll calculate if 50% of his benefit is more than your current benefit. If it is, you'll get the difference added to your payment. By the way, if you're having trouble getting through to SSA by phone, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real person in under 10 minutes instead of waiting for hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Good luck!

your divorced ex has to be 62 thats the rules. but also you should know the marriage has to be 10 years minimum to qualify in case anyone else reading this is wondering

Just wanted to add something important here - if your ex happens to be disabled and receiving SSDI benefits, you might be able to claim spousal benefits even before he reaches 62. There are different rules for disability situations.

One important detail to understand: When you eventually file for the divorced spouse benefit, you won't receive the full 50% of his benefit amount in addition to your own benefit. Instead, SSA will pay you the higher of either your own benefit or up to 50% of his Full Retirement Age (FRA) benefit amount. For example, if your monthly benefit is $1,200 and 50% of his FRA benefit would be $1,500, you'd receive a total of $1,500 (not $1,200 + $1,500). Essentially, they'll add $300 to your current payment in this scenario. Also note that since you're already collecting your own retirement, filing for the divorced spouse benefit won't reduce your payment amount - it can only increase it if his record provides a higher benefit.

btw does anybody know if her ex remarries does that affect her getting benefits on his record?? just curious

Just to add one more helpful tip - when December 2025 rolls around and your ex turns 62, don't wait! File for the divorced spouse benefit as soon as possible after his birthday. Social Security benefits can't be paid retroactively for more than 6 months, so any delay could mean losing money. I'd recommend calling SSA or visiting your local office right after he turns 62 in December. Also, keep in mind that even if he doesn't file for his own benefits right away (some people delay to get delayed retirement credits), you can still claim on his record once he's eligible at 62. His decision about when to claim doesn't affect your ability to get divorced spouse benefits.

I just want to say this thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a similar situation - divorced after 15 years, my ex is younger, and I'm already collecting my own small retirement benefit. Reading everyone's experiences and advice has cleared up so much confusion for me. The key takeaways I'm getting are: 1) Ex must be 62+ but doesn't need to be collecting yet, 2) Marriage must have lasted 10+ years (check), 3) I must be unmarried (check), 4) File ASAP after ex turns 62 to avoid losing benefits due to the 6-month retroactive limit, and 5) Get everything in writing from SSA due to inconsistent phone answers. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge - this community is amazing for navigating these complex SSA rules!

I'm dealing with a very similar situation and this thread has been incredibly informative! My ex-husband is also younger than me (by about 3 years) and won't reach 62 until 2026. I've been receiving my own retirement benefits for about a year now, but they're quite modest since I had several years of lower earnings due to childcare responsibilities during our 18-year marriage. One thing I wanted to add based on my research - make sure you have your ex's full Social Security number when you're ready to apply. I realized I only remembered part of his SSN and had to do some digging through old tax returns to find it. SSA can sometimes locate records without it, but having the complete number makes the process much smoother. Also, has anyone here dealt with the situation where your ex moved to a different state? I'm wondering if that affects which SSA office I should work with when the time comes to file. My local office said they can handle it regardless of where he lives, but I want to make sure I'm prepared with the right documentation. Thanks to everyone who's shared their experiences - it's so helpful to learn from people who've actually navigated this process successfully!

This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a somewhat different situation but wanted to share in case it helps others. I was married for 12 years and my ex-husband is actually older than me. He started collecting his Social Security at 62 (he's now 65), and I just turned 62 last month. I was able to file for divorced spouse benefits immediately since he was already collecting. What surprised me was how smooth the process was once I had all my documents ready. I applied online through the SSA website and it took about 4 weeks to process. My advice for anyone preparing: definitely gather all your paperwork well in advance, and if you're close to the age milestone, consider doing a practice run through the online application to see what information you'll need. One thing that wasn't clear to me initially - they asked for the exact date of my final divorce decree, not just the month and year. Make sure you have that specific date handy when you apply. Also, they wanted to know if I had received any other government benefits, so be prepared to answer questions about things like unemployment, disability, or other Social Security benefits. The increase to my monthly payment was definitely worth the effort. Good luck to everyone waiting for their ex-spouses to reach 62!

I'm going through a very similar situation and this discussion has been incredibly enlightening! My ex-husband is 3 years younger than me and won't turn 62 until early 2027. We were married for 14 years, and I've been collecting my own modest retirement benefits for about 18 months now. One thing I wanted to ask - has anyone here had experience with getting an estimate of what their divorced spouse benefit might be before actually applying? I know SSA can provide benefit estimates, but I'm not sure if they can estimate the divorced spouse benefit amount without my ex's cooperation or knowledge. It would be helpful to know roughly what increase I might expect so I can plan my finances better. Also, I've been keeping detailed records of all my interactions with SSA representatives, including names, dates, and what they told me. Given how many people here have mentioned getting different answers from different reps, I figure having a paper trail might be useful when I eventually apply. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and knowledge - this thread should be bookmarked by anyone dealing with divorced spouse benefits!