Hi,

I can not find the answer to my question anywhere. I was born 12/25/1951, ex spouse of 25 years born 5/6/1954. Divorced over 2 yrs. I haven't remarried. He is 2 yrs younger than me. I will collect social security when I reach 66.
My question is: Do I file for my benefit first, then file for his when he is 66? His benefit is much higher than mine. Or do I file for both when I'm 66. Will I get less of his benefit because he will not be 66 yet?

Just a side bar. Why isn't alimony considered earned income? I worked 24/7 for 25 yrs as mother, maid, wife and cook for $0 income. I feel my alimony is finally giving me some compensation for that work and would eliminate some of those 0's from my record.

I hope you have the answers. Thank you.

Hi,

You should almost certainly file a restricted application for divorced spousal benefits only at age 66, then switch to your own account at age 70 if it's higher than your divorced spousal benefit at that time. You may wish to run the maximization software available on this website in order to be sure.

Your divorced spousal benefit amount will not be reduced because your ex-husband will not be full retirement age when you start drawing. He just needs to be 62 or older in order for you to get 50% of his full retirement age benefit amount (PIA) starting with the month you reach age 66 (i.e. December 2017).

Alimony isn't counted as earned income for Social Security purposes because that's how Congress wrote the law. Only wages (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0301401005) and net self employment earnings are considered as earned income subject to Social Security taxes.

Best, Jerry