My ex passed I plan on retiring at age 65 instead of 66 1/2 what percentage of survivors benefit would I receive?

Hi. The exact percentage reduction for starting surviving divorced spousal benefits early varies depending on your year of birth. If your full retirement age (FRA) is 66 1/2 and if you start drawing those benefits 18 months early, the applicable reduction would amount to roughly 7%. Or, in other words, your benefit rate would likely amount to roughly 93% of your unreduced rate.

It sounds like your best strategy for claiming benefits would likely be one of the following:
1) File for reduced survivor benefits as soon as your earnings will permit at least some benefits to be paid, then switch to your own record at age 70; or,
2) File for reduced retirement benefits on your own record as soon as your earnings will permit at least some benefits to be paid, then file for unreduced survivor benefits at your full retirement age (FRA).

Normally, you would want to start out drawing the lower benefit first and then switch to the higher benefit when it reaches it's highest potential 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