I am newly divorced after a marriage of 34 years. I’m 54 and on SSDI and my ex-spouse is 59 (still working) My question is… can I draw on my spouses Social Security now since I’m disabled, or do I have to wait until he’s 67? How do I find out how much his Social Security will be? If he passes away am I able to receive 100% of his Social Security or still only half?

Hi. No. Even if you're disabled you can't qualify for benefits from a living ex-spouse's record unless you're at least age 62. And, even then you'll only qualify for divorced spousal benefits if your ex's primary insurance amount (PIA) is more than twice as much as your own PIA. A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA), or their unreduced Social Security disability (SSDI) benefit amount.

However, if your ex-spouse dies you could potentially qualify for disabled survivor benefits immediately since you're at least age 50. If you become eligible for disabled survivor benefits prior to age 60 your survivor rate would be calculated at 71.5% of the difference between your PIA and your ex's PIA, assuming that your ex's PIA is higher than your own. The percentage would increase the closer you are to full retirement age (FRA) when you claim survivor benefits. The maximum survivor amount you could get would depend in part on when your ex-spouse starts drawing his benefits.

Best, Jerry