Can my ex-spouse get benefits from my higher Social Security now that he's disabled at 70?

maybe he could apply for disability? doubt he would get anything from ur record unless u die (sorry). the ssa doesn't care about ex's being nice to each other lol

You're asking about ex-spouse benefits, and there's actually good news here. Since you were married for more than 10 years, he never remarried, and you're both over full retirement age (FRA), he MAY be eligible for ex-spouse benefits right now if they would be higher than his own benefit. He could receive up to 50% of your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which based on your annual benefit of $35,000 would be around $17,500 annually. Since his current benefit is $19,000, it initially appears he wouldn't qualify for ex-spouse benefits as his own benefit is higher. HOWEVER, if part of his current $19,000 includes delayed retirement credits (for claiming after FRA), the comparison is actually made to his PIA (benefit at FRA), not his current increased benefit. So it's worth having him check with SSA to see if 50% of your PIA might actually be higher than his PIA. This doesn't affect your benefits at all, by the way.

I went through something sorta similar with my ex. If your ex-husband's health has deteriorated to the point where he can't work anymore, he should definitely look into applying for SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance). Even though he's already receiving retirement benefits, sometimes you can get a higher amount through disability depending on his work history. But the frustrating part is actually REACHING Social Security to discuss these complicated situations! When my ex needed to apply for benefits last year, he kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got him through to an actual SSA agent in under 20 minutes instead of the usual hours-long wait. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows how it works. Definitely worth it for complicated cases where you really need to talk to someone knowledgeable about all the rules.

You are such a kind person to be concerned about your ex! My sister was in a similar situation and she found out there's actually a limit to how much an ex-spouse can receive - it's capped at 50% of your benefit amount. So even if he qualified for ex-spouse benefits (which he probably doesn't since his own benefit is higher), he wouldn't get the full $35k that you get, just half of that. Still might be worth him calling SSA to check, sometimes there are weird exceptions!

I'm going through the EXACT same thing with my ex-wife! We were married 22 years and I worry about her too. Did anyone tell you about the family maximum benefit? It's this confusing calculation that limits total benefits paid on one person's record. It might come into play if other people also claim on your record like current spouse or kids. The whole system is SO COMPLICATED! Every time I think I understand it, there's some new rule I never heard of!

u should tell him to go to ssa.gov n make an account if he doesnt have 1 already. thats the fastest way to see what options r available. the website shows u everything ur eligible for

One thing nobody's mentioned - since your ex-husband is 70 and has health problems, he might also qualify for SSI (Supplemental Security Income) depending on his total assets and income. It's meant for people with limited resources. The benefit amount isn't huge but every bit helps when someone's struggling financially with health issues.