My ex-husband had to take an early retirement of October 1st of 2021 and he is 60 years old and I am too and we were married for 19 years and have been divorced for 14 am I entitled to the divorce benefits or do I have to wait until I'm 62

Hi. No. Age 62 is the earliest that you can qualify for divorced spousal benefits on the account of a living ex-spouse. Also, your ex-spouse must be at least age 62 or be drawing Social Security retirement or disability benefits in order for you to potentially be eligible for divorced spousal benefits (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.03/handbook-0311.html).

Furthermore, even when you reach age 62 you can't apply for divorced spousal benefits without being required to claim your own Social Security retirement benefits at the same time. As a result, you'll only be eligible for divorced spousal benefits if 50% of your ex-spouse's primary insurance amount (PIA) is higher than your own PIA. A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA). And, if you start drawing benefits prior to your FRA then your benefit rate will be reduced for age.

Best, Jerry