Confused about when ex-spousal Social Security benefits are calculated - at my FRA or his?

The whole ex-spouse benefit thing is SO confusing, but I figured it out last year. When you apply for your own retirement benefit, you can apply for the ex-spouse benefit at the same time. SSA will automatically give you whichever is higher at THAT time - you don't have to wait for either of you to reach FRA. BUT (and this is important), if you claim before YOUR FRA, both your own benefit AND the ex-spouse benefit will be reduced. So if you claim at 63, you'll get a reduced amount of either your own benefit or the ex-spouse benefit, whichever is higher after both are reduced. My advice? Call SSA directly to confirm your specific situation. I tried for THREE WEEKS to get through to them - kept getting disconnected or wait times of 2+ hours. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Totally worth it because the agent walked me through all my options and helped me understand exactly how my benefits would be calculated.

I went thru this exact thing! you dont need to worry about when HE reaches FRA, it only matters when YOU file. they look at both benefits when u apply and give u the higher one

There are several important technical points to understand here: 1. When you file for your own retirement benefits before FRA, you're deemed to be filing for ALL benefits you're eligible for (including ex-spouse benefits). This is called "deemed filing." 2. SSA will calculate both benefits - your own retirement benefit (reduced for early filing) and your ex-spouse benefit (also reduced for early filing) - and pay you the higher amount. You don't receive both. 3. The comparison happens at the time you file, not at FRA. 4. Your ex's filing status is irrelevant as long as he's eligible for benefits (62+) and you were married for at least 10 years. 5. Once you start receiving benefits, SSA doesn't automatically recalculate later to see if you should switch. However, if your ex hasn't filed yet when you claim, and later files for retirement, you should contact SSA as your benefit amount might change. 6. If you wait until your FRA to file, you could potentially file for just the ex-spouse benefit first and let your own benefit grow until 70 (this strategy only works if you were born before January 2, 1954). I recommend scheduling an appointment with SSA to discuss your specific situation before filing.

This is ALL wrong information!! My friend said u have to wait until HE files before u can get anything!!! The whole system is RIGGED against divorced women. I tried to get benefits on my ex's record and they kept giving me the runaround. Telling me one thing one day and something different the next!!!! They're just hoping we'll give up and go away.

my mom got her ex-spouse benefit and it was WAY less than she expected. make sure you understand that it's half of his PRIMARY INSURANCE AMOUNT, not half of what he actually gets if he delayed. so if his PIA is like $2400 (what he'd get at FRA) but he delayed to 70 and gets $3200, you'd get half of the $2400, not half of $3200. just FYI

I went through something like this last year when I was trying to figure out my options. I waited until my full retirement age which was the right choice for me because it gave me the full 50% of my ex's benefit without any reductions. You might want to calculate both options - what you'd get by taking reduced benefits at 63 versus waiting until your FRA. Sometimes waiting is worth it! The thing that confused me was whether my benefit would be adjusted if my ex got COLA increases. My benefit DOES increase with COLA even though we've been divorced for 15 years, which was a nice surprise.

my neighbor told me u can get divorcee benefits even if u remarried??? Is that true??

To directly answer your question about when the calculation/adjustment comes into effect: it happens at the exact time you apply for benefits. There's no automatic recalculation or adjustment later. If you apply at 63: - SSA will calculate your own reduced retirement benefit - SSA will calculate your reduced ex-spouse benefit (which would be about 37.5% of his PIA instead of the full 50% you'd get at FRA) - You'll receive whichever amount is higher If your own benefit grows over time (due to additional earnings), SSA won't automatically recalculate to see if you should switch between your benefit and the ex-spouse benefit. That's why it's so important to understand the numbers before you file. One last tip: make sure you specifically mention you want to file for ex-spouse benefits when you apply. Sometimes this gets overlooked if you don't explicitly bring it up.