I was married 15 years, divorced for 17 years. I am 65, My ex is two years younger. I will claim ss benefits long before him (he doesn't want to retire for quite a while) if I claim divorced spousal benefits, how is the amount determined if he doesn't retire until he is 70. ( it could be five years after me) his salary has been over $500k for years and his benefit will be higher than mine even

Hi,

I should first point out that since you were born after January 1 1954 you won't be able to file for divorced spousal benefits during your ex's lifetime without also being required to file for your own benefits at the same time. You'll therefore only qualify for divorced spousal benefits if 50% of your ex'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).

Your ex's PIA would be calculated based on his highest 35 years of Social Security covered wage-indexed earnings. His PIA can be recalculated and potentially increased after any year in which he earns more than he did in one of his previous 35 highest years. Those recalculations apply whether or not either you or your ex is drawing benefits on his record, so if you qualify for divorced spousal benefits your rate could be recalculated and increased if your ex continues working and has high enough earnings.

You may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze the options available to you in order to determine your best strategy for maximizing benefits.

Best, Jerry