Desperate for Social Security spousal benefits after ex-husband retired - application taking forever!

I'm so sorry you're going through this! To answer your question - no, they typically won't rush your application just because of financial hardship, unfortunately. However, they WILL backdate your payments to your application date once approved. A few questions that might help: 1) Were you married for at least 10 years? 2) Are you at least 62? 3) Is your ex already receiving his benefits or just retiring from work? These factors affect your eligibility for ex-spousal benefits.

Since you're 64 and were married well over the 10-year minimum, you definitely qualify for ex-spousal benefits. The good news is that at your Full Retirement Age (which would be 66 for your birth year), you'd get 50% of his Primary Insurance Amount. Taking it at 64 means a small reduction, but still substantial. Here's what I'd do: 1) Call the SSA main number at 8am exactly when they open 2) Ask specifically for the status of your application and explain the financial hardship 3) Request to speak with a supervisor if needed 4) Ask for the exact timeframe of when to expect approval In my experience, ex-spousal benefits can take 2-3 months, sometimes longer if there's any issue verifying the marriage/divorce records.

I went through almost the exact same situation last year! I was panicking about bills after my divorce settlement payments ended. After trying for days to reach someone at Social Security with no luck, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual SSA agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once I finally spoke with an agent, I found out my application was sitting in a queue and nobody had even looked at it yet. The agent was able to flag it as urgent due to financial hardship and I had my first payment within 3 weeks. Definitely worth trying since the regular phone system is basically impossible.

the SSA is such a JOKE!!! they take FOREVER to do anything and dont care if ur starving meanwhile!! my mom had the same thing happen and ended up having to borrow money from everyone she knew for 3 months before her first payment came thru. and when she called they just said "its processing" like that helps pay the bills!!! 😡😡😡

To answer your question about backpay - yes, they will pay you from the date of your application once approved. So you won't lose any money, but the gap can still create a cash flow problem. When I called, I specifically asked the agent to note my financial hardship in the file, which seemed to help speed things up.

Make sure you're clear on your benefit amount before counting on it for your budget. Ex-spousal benefits at age 64 will be reduced because you're taking them before your Full Retirement Age. You'll get approximately 41.7% of his PIA instead of the full 50%. Also, if you have any pension from non-covered employment (like some government jobs), the GPO (Government Pension Offset) could reduce your benefit. Have you considered applying for emergency assistance through your county's social services while waiting? Many counties have emergency rental/utility assistance for situations exactly like yours.

dont waste ur time with calling SSA normal way! my neighbor had same issue with ex spouse benfits and she went directly to the local office in person and waited all day but at least got answer same day!! they told her status and when to expect payment. bring book and lunch if u try this!!!

Sry your going thru this. My situation was kinda similar - my alimony was ending and I needed the SS right away. Ended up having to put groceries on credit cards for a couple months. One thing nobody mentioned is that you should check your MySocialSecurity account online if you have one. Sometimes it shows status updates there before you get any letter.

One more important detail - since your ex hasn't actually filed for his benefits yet, your application might be in a holding pattern. The SSA typically won't finalize ex-spousal benefits until the worker (your ex) has either filed or reached 62. If he's filing next month, they may be waiting for his application to be processed first before finalizing yours. This might explain the delay, and unfortunately might mean you won't see movement until after he officially files. Make sure when you call to specifically ask if this is the holdup, as the frontline reps don't always check for this specific issue.

There's a special provision for divorced spouses - you can actually receive benefits on your ex's record if you've been divorced for at least two years, even if he hasn't filed yet, as long as he's eligible (62+). This is called the two-year divorce rule or "independently entitled divorced spouse" provision. Since he's 66 and eligible, you should be able to get your benefits regardless of whether he's filed yet. When you contact SSA, specifically mention this provision if they try to tell you that you have to wait for him to file. Not all representatives are familiar with this rule.

Thank you all for the helpful information! I'm going to try the Claimyr service tomorrow to actually get through to someone. Then I'll specifically ask about the "independently entitled divorced spouse" provision since we've been divorced for 7 years. I'll also look into emergency assistance through my county as a backup plan. Will update here if I make any progress. Fingers crossed I can get this resolved before the alimony stops!