I bought your book and the software -- thank you. My question: I am writing on behalf of a family member. My 61-year old sister (birthday Sep 1960) is disabled. She has been on Social Security Disability (Medicare) since Sep 2021, and on SSDI since Sep 2019. She currently receives ~$300 per month SSDI (her own SS). She was married for 35 years and divorced 3 years ago (Mar 2019). Her former husband (born 1946) started his SS income when he was 62-years old, in 2008, and currently receives about mid-$2000s per month.
1. When my sister turns 62 yo this Sept, is she eligible to receive 50% of her former husband’s SS? Or a lower percentage, e.g., 25%?
2. Would she receive a percentage of his current monthly SS amount (mid $2000s) at 62yo? Or a percentage of what her former husband’s SS amount would have been had he waited until his FRA (age 65) to begin withdrawals (estimated ~$3000)?
3. Using her husband’s SS details above (as her earnings were much lower), what is the maximum SS monthly payment she can expect at 62yo? At her FRA at 67yo?

Thank you,
concerned sister

Hi. I answer questions submitted to this forum, but I don't have access to our software customer's data. If you currently subscribe to our software, though, you should be able to use the software to explore your sister's options. You could then ask any questions you have using an online contact form so that your questions can be answered by one of our experts with access to the information you entered into the software.

What I can tell you is that a divorced spouse can potentially receive up to 50% of a living ex-spouse's primary insurance amount (PIA) if they start drawing at full retirement age (FRA or later. A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at FRA. However, if a divorced spouse starts drawing divorced spousal benefits prior to their FRA, then their divorced spousal rate is reduced for age. If your sister applies for divorced spousal benefits prior to FRA then her divorced spousal rate would be reduced for age regardless of the fact that she's disabled. And, any such reduction would continue for as long as both your sister and her ex-spouse are living.

Here's an example to illustrate. Let's say that Beth is receiving a Social Security disability (SSDI) benefit, and her benefit rate before any deductions is $300. Beth's ex-spouse is receiving a reduced Social Security retirement benefit of $2400 based on his PIA of $3000. If Beth files for divorced spousal benefits this year at age 62, her divorced spousal rate would be calculated as follows. First, Beth's SSDI amount, which is equal to her PIA, would be subtracted from 50% of her ex's PIA. In Beth's case, that would result in an unreduced amount of $1200 (i.e. $3000/2 - $300). That amount would then be reduced for age to $780 since Beth is filing 5 years prior to her FRA. Beth would then be paid her reduced divorced spousal rate in addition to her SSDI benefit for a total benefit amount of $1080 (i.e. $780 + $300). If Beth had instead waited until FRA to claim divorced spousal benefits, her combined rate would have been $1500 (i.e. $300 + $1200), or a full 50% of her ex's PIA.

Best, Jerry