I was married to my ex husband for 16 years. I am now 60, he is 63. Due to Covid he was let go from his job and is now filing to collect his SS. We have an adult disabled daughter who was just cleared to collect on his SS as a DAC. My question is will I still be able to collect on my ex husbands SS when I retire at 62?

Hi,

Yes, at least potentially. The fact that your daughter is drawing benefits on your ex-husband's record would have no adverse impact on your ability to collect divorced spousal benefits. Divorced spousal benefits are exempt from being reduced due to the family maximum benefit (FMB).

It sounds like you could qualify for divorced spousal benefits as early as age 62 provided that you're unmarried and that you don't qualify for a higher benefit rate based on your own earnings. You couldn't file for divorced spousal benefits while your ex is living without also being required to file for your own Social Security retirement benefits at the same time. Therefore, you'll only be eligible for divorced spousal benefits if 50% of your ex's primary insurance amount (PIA) is higher than your own PIA. And, if you file for benefits prior to your full retirement age (FRA) your benefit rate will be reduced for age. A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA).

Also, if you're still working and if you apply for benefits prior to FRA there's a limit on how much you can earn and still collect benefits (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/whileworking.html). You may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze the options available to you in order to determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry