Hi,
I am 63, was married for 15 years, have been divorced for 14 years. My ex husband is 10 years older than I am, so currently 73. I was planning on waiting to collect my SS until my FRA, or even to age 70. However my financial advisor says I should file for my benefit now, due to the probability that my ex husband will predecease me and I could then switch to survivor's benefits.

My ex husband was a high wage earner, and his SS benefit is higher than mine as I took years out for child care, etc. He most likely has always been eligible for the maximum SS benefit. So his PIA at his FRA would have been 2775. However, I don't know when he filed for SS - age 62, FRA, 70, or somewhere in between.

I called the SS number to try to make an appt at my local SS office to ask this question, but was told that they can't tell me that. So how do I figure out if I should follow my financial planner's advice? If my ex husband waited until age 70 to file for his SS, it would no doubt make sense for me to file now for mine and then switch to survivor's if he predeceases me as his benefit amount would definitely be higher than mine. But if he filed at age 62, I'd be better off waiting as long as I can to file for my own SS in order to get the higher benefit based on my own earnings. Then of course it also depends on how long we both live. Help!!

Hi,

I'm not an expert on the privacy act, but I believe that Social Security should be able to tell you how much you could potentially receive as a survivor. The following section of the Social Security operations manual is not definitive, but seems to indicate that release of such information is permissible if there's a valid need: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0203316110. However, you may be required to submit proof of your relationship to your ex-spouse (e.g. marriage certificate, divorce decree) before Social Security will release the information to you.

Rather than asking Social Security at what age your husband filed, you might want to try explaining to them that you need to know how much your unreduced survivor rate would be so that you can decide when it would be optimal to claim your own benefits. You might need to be persistent and ask to speak with a supervisor if the first person with whom you speak won't give you that information. Social Security employees can be fined or imprisoned for violating the privacy act, so they often err on the side of caution even if the requested information can legally be disclosed.

Best, Jerry