Will taking Social Security ex-spousal benefits at 60 increase my early filing penalty on SSDI?

I can help with this! When you're already receiving SSDI, you won't face additional early filing penalties for applying for divorced spouse benefits before your full retirement age. Since you're receiving disability benefits, the early filing reduction doesn't apply the same way. However, there are a couple of things to consider: 1. Your ex-spouse's benefit amount will be reduced because HE is taking benefits early at 62 (assuming he applies right away). 2. As a divorced spouse, you're eligible for up to 50% of his full retirement amount if you wait until your FRA. Taking it earlier means you'll get less than that 50%. You should definitely apply once he turns 62. The SSA will calculate whether your current SSDI payment or the combined amount is higher, and pay you whichever is greater. It's essentially free money if his record provides you with a higher benefit.

my friend was in the EXACT same situation last yr!!!! she was on disability 4 yrs and her ex turned 62. she went ahead and applied for the ex-spouse benefit and got an extra $430/month on top of her disability. didn't hurt her at all and the ssa rep told her its not considered early filing penalty when ur already on disability!!!

I can't believe all the misinformation in this thread! I used to work for SSA so let me clarify some things: 1. If you are getting SSDI, you ARE NOT subject to the same early retirement reduction factors that apply to regular retirement benefits. Your disability benefit automatically converts to retirement at your FRA with no penalty. 2. For divorced spouse benefits when ex-spouse turns 62: if you've been divorced 2+ years, your ex does NOT need to have filed for benefits for you to be eligible. This is called the "independently entitled divorced spouse" provision. 3. What you'll get is the higher of: your current SSDI OR up to 50% of your ex's PIA (with reduction factor for your age). 4. Don't expect a full 50% "top-up" - it doesn't work that way. They'll pay the higher of the two benefits, not both combined.

Let me try to clear this up with my own experience. I was on SSDI and applied for spousal benefits when my husband retired. Here's what happened: SSA calculated my benefit amount based on my disability ($1,850/mo) and compared it to what I'd get as a spouse (about $1,375/mo based on 50% of his benefit with my age reduction). Since my SSDI was higher, I continued getting exactly the same amount. For you, if 50% of your ex's benefit (reduced for your age) is higher than your current SSDI, then you'll get that higher amount instead. If it's lower, nothing changes. PRO TIP: The SSA phone lines are impossible these days. I tried for WEEKS and kept getting disconnected. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Worth every penny to avoid the frustration of constant busy signals and disconnects.

The real question you need to ask is whether your ex-spouse's benefit at 62 is going to be higher than your disability benefit. Most people don't realize that men often have MUCH higher lifetime earnings than women who took time off to raise kids. I was in a similar situation - married 22 years, stayed home with kids, ex made about 4x what I did in my working years. When I applied for divorced spouse benefits, my monthly payment went up by almost $800! Definitely worth applying. And there's NO DOWNSIDE to applying. If your current benefit is higher, you just keep getting that. But if the spousal benefit is higher, you get more money each month. It's literally a no-lose situation.

My cousin tried to apply for her ex-husband's SS and they told her she couldn't because she remarried when she was 58... have you remarried? That's a dealbreaker for ex-spouse benefits from what I heard.

Make sure you understand what "top off" actually means - it's NOT adding two benefits together. Here's how it works: 1. SSA calculates your current SSDI benefit (let's say $1,200/month) 2. They calculate what you'd get as an ex-spouse (50% of his PIA, reduced for your age - maybe $1,500/month) 3. You get the HIGHER of these two amounts ($1,500) 4. The "increase" is $300 in this example If your SSDI is already higher than what you'd get as an ex-spouse, you'll see NO CHANGE in your benefit amount. That's why some people apply and get nothing extra. Also, if your ex hasn't applied yet but you've been divorced 2+ years, you can still apply when he turns 62 regardless of whether he's filed for benefits himself.