Can I switch to ex-spouse or current spouse Social Security benefits after 22 years on SSDI?

You might have some options here. As someone who's been on SSDI for so long, you've probably been receiving what's essentially your own retirement benefit early. At 62, you could potentially qualify for auxiliary benefits (spousal or ex-spousal). Since you were married to your ex for over 10 years, you could potentially qualify for ex-spousal benefits. For your current husband, you'd need to have been married for at least 1 year to qualify for spousal benefits. The catch is that you can only receive the higher of your own benefit or a percentage of your spouse's/ex-spouse's benefit - not both added together. If either of their earnings records would give you more than your current $1,450, it might be worth pursuing. The SSA can tell you which would be most beneficial. Unfortunately reaching them by phone is incredibly difficult these days. I found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you skip the hold times with Social Security. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. It saved me hours of frustration when I was sorting out my widow benefits.

My sister went thru something similiar!!! She was on disabilty for like 15 yrs then when she turned 62 she found out she could get more on her exhusbands record. But she had to wait untill he filed for his retirment first. So make sure your ex has actually applyed for SS not just reached his age.

I work as a benefits counselor and can explain what happens in your situation. When you're on SSDI and reach retirement age, your disability benefits automatically convert to retirement benefits at the same amount. At 62, you can apply for reduced spousal or ex-spousal benefits, but would only receive the difference if those benefits exceed your current benefit. Here's what you need to understand: 1. For ex-spouse benefits: You can receive up to 50% of your ex's FRA benefit amount if you wait until your own FRA. At 62, that's reduced to about 32.5%. 2. For current spouse benefits: The same percentages apply, but you only need to have been married for one year. 3. Important: You'll only receive the DIFFERENCE between your current benefit and the auxiliary benefit IF the auxiliary benefit is higher. Example: If your ex's FRA benefit is $3,000, 32.5% would be $975. Since your current benefit is $1,450, you wouldn't receive anything additional because your benefit is already higher. You should contact SSA to have them calculate all three options (your own, ex-spouse, current spouse) to determine which gives you the highest benefit.

No, she can never receive both her own benefit AND a spousal/ex-spousal benefit at the same time. She will only receive the higher of the two. The offset works like this: If her own benefit is $1,450 and a potential spousal benefit would be $1,500, she would receive her own $1,450 plus the $50 difference, totaling $1,500. She doesn't get both added together ($1,450 + $1,500). This is often called the "offset" or "excess" formula.

The SYSTEM IS RIGGED against us!! I tried to do the same thing - switch from my own to my ex's benefit since he made WAY more money than me our whole marriage. SSA told me I could ONLY get the higher amount, not both! After ALL those years of marriage while he built his career, I only get whatever is higher by a few dollars? How is that fair?? And then they make it IMPOSSIBLE to even talk to someone about it. I spent TWO FULL DAYS trying to get through on the phone!!!

did u ever work under your own record? bc i think thats the key thing. if u worked ur whole life then ur prob already getting more than what ud get from the spousal thing. but if u were like a stay at home mom then the spousal benefit is usually better

Here's what most people miss in your situation: When you've been on SSDI for a long time, your benefit amount might actually be lower than it would have been if you had been able to work until retirement age. This is because SSDI freezes your earnings record when you become disabled, so you don't get credit for potential earnings increases over those 22 years. In your specific case, with a $1,450 SSDI benefit, you would need either your ex-husband or current husband to have a benefit of approximately $2,900 or higher for you to potentially get any additional amount as a spousal benefit at age 62 (since you'd get about 32.5% of their amount at this age). If you wait until your full retirement age, you'd need them to have a benefit of about $2,320 or higher (since you'd get 50% at FRA). One important thing to check: when did your ex-husband or current husband start taking their benefits? If they took them early, their benefit amount would be permanently reduced, which also affects what you could receive.

If you need to get through to SSA quickly, I highly recommend trying that Claimyr service I mentioned earlier. When I needed to sort out my benefits, I wasted days trying to reach someone at SSA. With Claimyr, I had an agent on the phone within 10 minutes. They basically call SSA for you and then connect you once they reach an agent. Super helpful when dealing with time-sensitive benefit questions like yours.

yeah i tried that claimyr thing too after seeing someone post about it here... worked pretty good! got through to ssa in like 20 mins when i had been trying for DAYS before.

my mom had almost same situation!!! she was on disability many years then tried to get on my dads record when he retired. the difference was only like $75 more per month but that still helps with groceries these days! everything is so expensive now.

One thing to keep in mind is that even if the benefit increase seems small, it could still be worth pursuing. As someone mentioned, even an extra $75/month adds up to $900 per year, which can really help with rising costs. Also, there's another angle to consider - if you do qualify for a higher spousal or ex-spousal benefit, you might want to think about the timing strategically. Since you're 62 now, you could potentially file a restricted application for just the auxiliary benefits while letting your own retirement benefit continue to grow with delayed retirement credits until age 70 (though this gets complex with SSDI conversions). The key is getting the actual benefit calculations from SSA. They can run scenarios for you showing exactly what you'd receive under each option and at different ages. Don't give up on reaching them - your financial security is worth the effort to get through!

I'm in a similar situation and wanted to share what I learned from my experience. I was on SSDI for 18 years before switching to survivor benefits when my husband passed away. The process was actually more straightforward than I expected once I finally got through to SSA. A few things that might help you: 1. You can actually apply for spousal/ex-spousal benefits online through your my Social Security account - you don't necessarily have to call. The online application will ask about your marriage history and current situation. 2. SSA will automatically calculate which benefit gives you the highest amount. You don't have to choose - they'll give you whichever is better. 3. Since you mentioned your ex-husband waited until his full retirement age to claim, that's actually good news for you. His benefit amount won't be reduced, which means any potential spousal benefit based on his record would be calculated from his full amount. 4. Don't forget that if you do end up qualifying for a higher benefit, SSA can sometimes pay retroactive benefits for up to 6 months before your application date. Given that you've been on SSDI for 22 years with your earnings frozen at age 40, there's a decent chance one of your spousal options could be higher than your current $1,450. Definitely worth investigating!

I just went through a similar situation last year! I was on SSDI for 16 years and discovered I could get a higher benefit based on my ex-husband's record. Here's what I learned that might help you: First, definitely try the online application through your my Social Security account like Amina mentioned. I found it much easier than the phone maze. The system will automatically check all your options and tell you which gives the highest benefit. Second, with your $1,450 current benefit, you'd need your ex or current husband to have a monthly benefit of around $2,900+ for you to see any increase at age 62 (due to the early filing reduction). But if either of them had high earnings, it's definitely possible. Third, timing matters! If you do qualify for a higher spousal benefit, apply as soon as possible. I waited a few months thinking about it and realized I could have gotten those retroactive payments Amina mentioned. The online application took me about 45 minutes to complete, and I heard back within two weeks. Even though my increase was only $127/month, that's over $1,500 per year - definitely worth it! Don't let the complexity discourage you from at least checking your options.

Just wanted to add one more important consideration that I haven't seen mentioned yet - make sure you understand how Medicare premiums might be affected if your Social Security benefit increases. When you're on SSDI, your Medicare Part B premium is usually deducted from your monthly payment. If you switch to a higher spousal or ex-spousal benefit, your net increase might be slightly less than the gross increase due to how Medicare premiums are calculated based on income. Also, if you're receiving any other benefits like SNAP or Medicaid, a higher Social Security payment could potentially affect your eligibility for those programs. It's worth checking with those agencies too if you do end up qualifying for a higher benefit. That said, don't let this discourage you from pursuing it! In most cases, the Social Security increase will more than offset any other changes. Just good to know about these potential impacts ahead of time so there are no surprises.