can you woukand collect your decrease ex spouse social security

Hi. To qualify for surviving divorced spousal benefits, you must meet the following conditions:
1) You are either a) age 60 or over; or b) at least age 50 and disabled;
2) Your ex-spouse must have paid into Social Security long enough to be insured;
3) You are not married, or if you are married, your current marriage took place when you were age 60 or older; and,
4) You aren't already collecting Social Security retirement or disability benefits at a benefit rate that's higher than your survivor benefit rate.

However, even if you meet all of the above conditions, whether or not you could actually be paid survivor benefits prior to your full retirement age (FRA) depends on how much you are earning. In 2023, for example, people who are under their FRA throughout the year would need to have $1 of their benefits withheld for each $2 that they earn in excess of $21,240.

Your best filing strategy depends largely on a) your current age, b) how much you'll be earning prior to FRA, and c) how much your own Social Security retirement benefit rate would be in comparison to your survivor benefit rate. Our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) could help sort all of this out for you so that you can determine the best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry