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Originally Posted by rodi
I am not sure if your ex is older or younger than you - but I think the key age for collecting on your ex's account is YOU reaching FRA. Not him.
W2R might be able to chime in on this since she just turned on the spigot for SS on her ex's earnings a few months ago.
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My ex isn't at his FRA yet, but I am. As soon as I had reached my FRA, I was able to get 1/2 his SS as my divorced spousal benefits, while allowing my own benefits to continue to grow until I reach age 70.
Here's a link telling you everything I know about divorced spousal benefits:
Retirement Planner: If You Are Divorced
Read it carefully because there is a lot of great information packed into that one little webpage.
I especially liked this part:
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(If) you have reached full retirement age and you are eligible for a spouse's benefit and your own retirement benefit, you have a choice.
You can choose to receive only the divorced spouse's benefits now and delay receiving retirement benefits until a later date. If retirement benefits are delayed, a higher benefit may be received at a later date based on the effect of Delayed Retirement Credits.
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One can get divorced spousal benefits before age 66 (FRA), but if I had done that then my own benefits would not have continued to grow until I reach age 70.
Right now, 1/2 his benefits are a little less than my benefits at age 66 but not too much different. However, they will continue to grow. When I get to age 70, I will switch from his benefits to my own, which should be considerably more than 1/2 his benefits by that time.
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Originally Posted by TresBelle65
It's a little challenging for me to estimate how much this will be: "50% of the ex-spouses benefit at FRA" since he and I have not been in contact and I have no idea what he has been earning since our separation.
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I had no idea either, until after I had applied online, and just a week or two before the first direct deposit when I found the number by logging in at the SS website. I was very pleased at the amount. I didn't include it in my retirement planning since it was all a mystery to me.