Ask Larry

Is My Ex-Wife's Social Security Unavailable To Me Now Because She Died?

I'm 65 been disabled for years receiving SSI and social security early retirement when I turned 62 (I missed the filing 'date of last insured" for SSDI) I was self-employed most of my life and have a very low social security benefit. Was married over 30 years divorced for 2 in July was planning on filing for spousal benefits as my (ex)wife worked her whole life, but she just died a month before her 62nd birthday.
??? Is her social security not available to me now???
I understand that she may have been getting Medicare, she had ALS. (I didn't know she was sick.)
Is this too complicated of a situation to get an answer?

Hi. No. I'm assuming that you're unmarried now, and if so It sounds like you could qualify for surviving divorced spousal benefits provided that your ex-wife's benefit rate was higher than your Social Security retirement benefit rate. I have no way of knowing how your benefit rate compares to your ex-wife's rate, so you'll need to contact Social Security to find out if you're eligible for additional benefits.

Best, Jerry

Posted: 
Sep 10 2021 - 9:17am
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