I am born before Jan 2 1954, was married over 10 years and am divorced for 8 years now.
My ex-wife is 61. I will be 66 soon and would like to file a restricted application, collect 50% of her FRA PIA and then at age 70 switch to my own PIA.

Can I do this?
Do I have to wait until my ex-spouse is 62 to do this?
Is it necessary that she applies for Social Security, as she prefers to wait until she reaches FRA, for me to do this?

Thanks!

Hi,

Yes, since you were born prior to January 2 1954 it sounds like you would qualify to file a restricted application for divorced spousal benefits only starting at of after your full retirement age (FRA) of 66. But yes, your ex-wife must be at least age 62 or be drawing Social Security disability or retirement benefits in order for you to qualify for divorced spousal benefits. Since you've been divorced for more than 2 years it won't be necessary for your ex-wife to actually file for her benefits in order for you to qualify for divorced spousal benefits, but she would need to be at least age 62 (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/divspouse.html).

Best, Jerry