Ex-wife's rights to my SSDI benefits at 63 - will it reduce my payment?

Your ex-wife can potentially claim spousal benefits based on your record if she meets certain criteria, but the good news is this will NOT reduce your SSDI payment at all. For her to be eligible: 1) She must be at least 62 years old, 2) Must be unmarried currently, 3) Your marriage lasted at least 10 years (which you said it did at 18 years), and 4) The benefit she'd receive on her own work record is less than what she'd get from yours. When an ex-spouse claims, it has zero impact on your payment amount - the SSA treats these as completely separate entitlements.

My ex tried to do this same thing to me!! They'll take from your check to pay her dont listen to that other person!! My brother in law works for SSA and he told me they split the amount between both people. She's just trying to take advantage of your disability!

this happened with my parents. mom got benefits from dads record after divorce. didnt affect his check at all. they been divorced like 25 yrs now lol

Just adding some additional information - there's another aspect to consider. Even though your ex-wife's claim won't affect your SSDI amount, the timing matters for her. Since you're receiving SSDI rather than regular retirement benefits, your ex-wife doesn't need to wait until your Full Retirement Age (FRA) to claim without reduction. However, SHE will face a reduction if she claims before her own FRA. At 62, she'd only get about 70-75% of what she'd receive at her full retirement age. Also worth noting - if she's worked enough on her own record, SSA will pay her own benefit first, then supplement up to the spousal benefit amount if that would be higher.

everyone here is missing the obvous question - why is she telling you she's applying?? she doesn't need your permission or help to apply. SSA doesn't even notify you when ex spouses claim on your record. sounds like she's trying to get money from you directly maybe? be careful!

I was in almost the exact same situation last year. I'm 64, on SSDI, and my ex-wife of 15 years applied for benefits on my record. Everyone here is correct - it didn't affect my payment AT ALL. She can apply if eligible, but it's completely separate from your benefit amount. The frustrating part for me wasn't that, but trying to get through to SSA to confirm all this. I kept calling for weeks and either got disconnected or was on hold for 2+ hours. Eventually I used this service called Claimyr that got me through to an agent in about 20 minutes (claimyr.com). They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Totally worth it to get this sorted out quickly and have peace of mind. The agent confirmed everything about how ex-spouse benefits work and that my payments weren't affected.

To answer your follow-up question: Since you're receiving SSDI, it's already calculated at your full benefit rate regardless of your age. SSDI converts to regular retirement benefits when you reach FRA, but the amount typically stays the same. So your disability benefit is essentially calculated as if you were at FRA already. Your ex-wife's reduction would be based on her age when she applies, not yours. If she's only 61, she'll need to wait until 62 to be eligible for ex-spouse benefits. And yes, if she applies at 62, she would face an early claiming reduction on the spousal benefit amount (potentially 25-30% less than if she waited until her FRA).

btw she might not even get approved my aunt tried to claim on my uncles record and got denied cause she made too much $ on her own

I just went through this whole mess with my ex husband. Had to fight SSA for months to get what I was entitled too!!!!! If your ex wife was married to you for 18 years she ABSOLUTELY can claim on your record as long as she's 62 or older AND not remarried. But like others said it DOESN'T effect your payment so dont worry about that part!!!!!! The real question is WHY is she telling you about it? SSA doesn't need your approval or even tell you when someone files on your record. Kinda suspicious tbh...

One additional piece of info that might help - if your ex-wife remarried at any point after your divorce, she wouldn't be eligible for benefits on your record UNLESS that marriage also ended (by death, divorce, or annulment). This is something people often misunderstand about ex-spouse benefits. And if she's currently married to someone else, she definitely can't claim on your record.