I’m one year past full retirement age, divorced from a marriage that was longer than ten years. I want to file next year for benefits. Although I was the higher earner during the marriage, I made less money than my spouse BEFORE we were married. Since SSA uses 35 years of earnings to calculate the payment amount, can I file using her earnings for the years when she made more than me?

Hi. You can't collect a benefit rate that's based on some combination of your and your ex-wife's earnings if that's what you're asking. Social Security retirement benefits are based on an average of a person's OWN highest 35 years of Social Security covered wage-indexed earnings, not their spouse's earnings. Conversely, survivor and spousal benefits are based on the highest years of the spouse's earnings, not your own earnings.

It sounds like your best filing strategy depends on whether or not your ex-wife is still living, and your date of birth. If your ex is still living and if you were born after January 1 1954, then you can't claim divorced spousal benefits without also being required to claim your own Social Security retirement benefits at the same time. And, in that case you would only be paid the higher of the two benefit rates.

However, if your ex-wife is deceased OR if you were born prior to January 2 1954, then you could potentially claim survivor or divorced spousal benefits while waiting until later to claim your own benefits. You should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze all of your options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry