I will be 62 in AUG 2016 and want (need) to start receiving benefits. My ex-husband who is 7 years older started taking his at 62, but his reduced rated is more than mine would be even if I waited till 65. what do i do? Thanks, Betty

Hi Betty, the fact that your ex filed early has no effect on your potential divorced spousal benefit. If you file for either your retirement benefit or spousal benefit before your FRA at 66 — not 65 — both will be permanently reduced. If you can delay until 66 to file, you'll be able to receive your unreduced spousal benefit which will be 50% of what your ex would have received had he waited until his FRA to file. If you want to see exactly how filing at different ages will affect your benefit amount, you can use our software to both determine your maximized strategy and also to try out different what-if scenarios. Thanks, John