my husband is younger than I am, he will turn 62 in March 2023.
.I am 66, started claiming social security at age 62.
we were married for10 years.
Divorced for over 15 years.
social security says that I'm not eligible for his social security due to the rule of, equal to or half his social security.
he was making 3.000 a month or more, much more than i ever brought in.
He is retired military and worked a corporate job for 10 years after he retired from the military.
I receive little over 700 a month from social security presently.
How can it be, that I'm not entitled to some of his social security after being married for 10 years/ and him making much more than I ever did?
thank you for your response.
Cynthia

Hi Cynthia. The only way that you could qualify for divorced spousal benefits while your ex-spouse is living is if your primary insurance amount (PIA) is less than half as much as his 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). In other words, in order for you to potentially be able to qualify for divorced spousal benefits your ex-spouse's PIA would need to be more than twice as much as your benefit amount would have been if you had waited until your FRA to start drawing benefits.

I have no way of knowing whether or your ex-spouse's PIA is or isn't more than twice as much as your PIA, but if you think that it is you can contact Social Security and insist on applying for divorced spousal benefits. You'll then receive a formal determination from Social Security notifying you of their decision, and informing you of your appeal rights if you disagree with the decision.

Best, Jerry