I was married for 18 years (divorced now for 20). Never remarried. My ex is 68 and has been collecting his SS. I turn 60 in September 2016. My understanding is I missed the cutoff for being allowed to collect my 50% of my ex-husbands social security. Is that correct? In order for me to collect that 50% I would need to have been born before 1954?

Thanks for your response.

Hi,

You can still potentially receive divorced spousal benefits, but what you can't do is file just for divorced spousal benefits without also filing for benefits on your own record. This is a result of changes in the law on deeming that were passed by Congress last year (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/reference.nsf/links/02052016024404PM). People born prior to 1954 were grandfathered under the law, and are thus not affected by the new rules.

So, if your own full retirement age benefit amount (PIA) is more than 50% of your ex-husband's PIA, you won't be eligible for divorced spousal benefits for at least as long as your ex is still living. However, you may still qualify for a surviving divorced spousal benefit if your ex dies first and his benefit rate is higher than your own rate.

Best, Jerry