Hi Larry,
I was married for 26 years and have never remarried. My ex husband remarried and is still married. I am collecting on my own social security and am now 73 years old. Am I eligible for full divorced widow benefits or a portion of his benefits....when and if he passes before me?

Hi,

It sounds like you'd meet the requirements for surviving divorced spousal benefits if your ex dies, assuming that your survivor rate would be higher than your own benefit rate. The fact that he's remarried wouldn't have any adverse effect on your eligibility for survivor benefits.

The amount for which you could qualify as a survivor depends on whether or not your ex-spouse is drawing his Social Security benefits, and if so, at what age he started drawing. You could basically qualify for at least 82.5% of your ex's primary insurance amount (PIA), or up to your ex's full benefit rate if it's more than that. You couldn't draw both the survivor rate and your own benefit rate, though, just the higher of the two.

While your ex is living, you could only qualify for divorced spousal benefits if 50% of your ex's PIA is more than your own PIA.

Best, Jerry