I was born in 1950 and was married for 43 years and am now divorcing. Is it true I can collect half of my husbands social security? And is there a waiting period on it?

Hi,

What you could potentially be eligible for is a divorced spousal benefit of up to 50% of your ex's full retirement age rate (PIA). However in order to qualify, your ex must either a) be drawing retirement or disability benefits, or b) he must be at least age 62 and your divorce must have been final for at least 2 years. Additionally, you couldn't be eligible for divorced spousal benefits if you are already drawing retirement benefits and your own PIA is more than 50% of your ex's PIA.

Furthermore, since you are already above full retirement age you could potentially be eligible for spousal benefits until your divorce is final. For you to qualify, though, your husband would have to be drawing either retirement or disability benefits and your own PIA would have to be less than 50% of your husband's PIA if you are already drawing your own benefits.

You should strongly consider using the maximization software available on this website in order to explore all of your filing options and determine your best strategy.

Best, Jerry