I am on Social Security Disability got approved before my divorce and they never mentioned anything about going off my spouses amount he worked more as I stayed home and worked taking care of our children. Can I go and get it off his earnings?
Hi,
If your ex is still living, the earliest that you could qualify for divorced spousal benefits is at age 62. Even then, you could only qualify if your ex is either drawing his benefits or is at least age 62 and his full retirement age rate (PIA, or primary insurance amount) is more than twice as much as your full Social Security disability (SSDI) benefit rate. Refer to Social Security's handbook for the full list of the requirements: https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.03/handbook-0311.html.
If your ex is deceased, then you could potentially qualify for disabled surviving divorced spousal benefits as early as age 50 if your ex's PIA is higher than your full Social Security disability (SSDI) benefit rate. The full requirements can be found in this section of the handbook: https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0403.html.
Best, Jerry