Hello Larry I was married to my ex-husband for 32 yrs and I have not remarried but he has I'm 5 yrs older than him I retired at my retirement age 66 so when he retires can I go back to SS and try to get half of his Ss when he retires

Hi. I assume you mean that you're already drawing your own Social Security retirement benefits and that you started drawing your benefits at your full retirement age (FRA). In that case, for as long as your ex-spouse is still living you could only qualify for divorced spousal benefits if 50% of your ex's primary insurance amount (PIA) is more than your own PIA. A person's PIA is equal to the amount of their Social Security retirement benefit if they start drawing at full retirement age (FRA).

The fact that your ex-spouse is remarried wouldn't adversely affect your ability to qualify for benefits on his account, but he would have to either be at least age 62 or drawing Social Security retirement or disability (SSDI) benefits in order for you to potentially be eligible for divorced spousal benefits. If you think you might already qualify, you should probably contact Social Security ASAP to see if you're eligible.

When and if you do qualify for divorced spousal benefits, your unreduced divorced spousal rate would be calculated by subtracting your PIA from 50% of your ex's PIA. That amount would then be paid in addition to your own benefit rate, provided that you don't start collecting the divorced spousal benefits prior to your FRA. Thus, if 50% of your ex's PIA is more than your PIA and assuming that you didn't start drawing your benefits prior to FRA, your combined benefit rate could add up to a full 50% of your ex's PIA.

Best, Jerry