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Can I Get Some Of My First Husband's SS Now Or Do I Have To Wait Until My Divorce From My Second Husband Is Final?

my husband served me with divorce papers in Jan 2022 and my first husband said that he went to social security for hie retired pension and put me down to receive half can i still get some of my first husband pension or do i have to wait untill divorce is final

Hi. Assuming that both of your husbands are still living, you couldn't qualify for divorced spousal benefits on your first husband's account at least until the month your divorce from your second spouse is final. You'd also need to meet the other requirements for divorced spousal benefits, such as being at least age 62 and having been married to your first husband for at least 10 years.

By the way, your ex-husband can't "put you down to receive half" of his benefit. By listing you on his application he could establish a protective filing date for you, but you'd still need to file an application and meet all of the requirements in order to qualify (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.03/handbook-0311.html).

Furthermore, if you do qualify for divorced spousal benefits and if you start drawing them before your full retirement age (FRA) your benefit rate will be reduced for age. For example, a divorced spouse who starts drawing benefits at FRA can be paid up to as much as 50% of their living ex-spouse's primary insurance amount (PIA). But, a divorced spouse who starts drawing at age 62 could only be paid up to a maximum of around 32.5% to 35% of their divorced spouse's PIA (https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/quickcalc/spouse.html).

It sounds like you may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to full analyze all of your options so that you can determine the best filing strategy to maximize your benefits.

Best, Jerry

Posted: 
Apr 8 2022 - 11:01am
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