I was married for 16 years and then got divorced. Then I remarried and was widowed we were married for 10 years I think or maybe a little more then he passed away from cancer I get a Widow's pension for about $1,500 a month. I was just wondering my ex-husband is still living but retired he's 70 am I entitled to part of his pension?

Hi,

It's very unlikely that you could qualify for any benefits on your ex-husband's record while he's still living. Unreduced divorced spousal benefits on the record of a living ex-spouse are paid at a rate of 50% of the ex's primary insurance amount (PIA), and you could only qualify for the higher of your widow's rate or your divorced spousal rate. Therefore, if your monthly widow's rate is $1500 your ex-husband's PIA, which is basically the same as his full retirement age rate, would have to be more than $3000 in order for you to qualify for any additional benefits from his record while he's still living. The maximum PIA for someone currently age 70 is less than $3000, so it doesn't sound like you could currently qualify for any benefits on your ex's record.

However, if your ex dies before you, you could then potentially qualify for the higher of your widow's rate or 100% of your ex's full monthly benefit rate. So, if your ex dies before you you'll probably want to check with Social Security to see if you could qualify for a higher benefit rate.

Best, Jerry