Dear Larry,

I was forced into applying for social security early, as I was not able to find work and was being wrongfully evicted at the same time. My court ordered spousal support ended December 2013, although I had spent 10 months looking for work and a less costly rental., neither materialized. When I talked to social security, I was led to believe I could take social security from my ex-husband's account as we were married 30 years. Somehow, they only gave me a percentage of his and the the rest came from my accrued employment when I had poor wages. None the less, I was told that what I am receiving is what I will receive the rest of my life. The question is can this be changed. I am studying to be a health coach, when I graduate, I will be making a lucrative income, could I stop and delay social security until later? Right now I am on social services as my social security is so low. Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you, Patricia

Dear Patricia, You can suspend your retirement benefit anytime between your full retirement age and 70 and restart it at 70. This may or may not help you depending on the size of your full retirement benefit compared to that of your ex. So you should run our company's software to see if suspending your retirement benefit is actually a good idea. When your ex dies, you will collect an excess divorced widows benefit, which may be either zero or positive depending on whether or not you suspend your retirement benefit and the size of your full retirement benefit relative to the size of his. In our software, you can kill him off (give him a higher or lower maximum age of life and see exactly what you'll get when your ex passes on.

best, Larry