My understanding is that is correct but only if that amount is more than you would get from your own social security. You get the larger of the two amounts.
FYI, a friend was told by SS that it’s better to come into the office if possible when discussing spousal/survivor benefits as people often use the incorrect terminology and over the phone they are allowed to only answer the questions they are asked.
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Correct but only if you wait to collect until your FRA.
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I never worked in a private sector and do not have SS on my own. My husband and I are the same age and our full retirement age is 67.
Then I would say you would get 50% of his full retirement age benefit. I may be wrong but from my reading he would need to apply before you do or at the same time because he must have a benefit in order for you to get that additional 50% of it.
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And if you’re divorced and had at least a 10 year marriage, you really should go in and talk to someone so that they can calculate the benefits you’re entitled to as an ex-spouse - the online calculators can not access this information, and you’ll need to provide proof of the marriage and it’s length. A marriage certificate and divorce decree are sufficient, and sometimes only the certified copy of the divorce decree is necessary when it lists the marriage date.
This amount can often be significant and it’s so important to check. It’s calculated on the former spouse’s entire SS record, not limited to the time in which the two people were married.
And, if you are drawing on your former spouse’s SS, they are not notified (and can not find out) if you are receiving benefits tied to their record. It’s entirely confidential.
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It’s not the case if you should get remarried.
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If karma really is a b****, I should get to outlive my ex-husband and collect a stepped up SS payment. I have a relationship with him that is like my relationship with Xfinity - love/hate. He managed my Roth IRA after my previous advisor died unexpectedly and he knows how I feel because in a Zoom meeting with him and oldest child as I was planning retirement, he was commenting about my SS benefit in terms of whether it better getting 1/2 of his or all of mine. Turned out that all of mine was the correct answer and I joked with him that he was only good to me if he was dead. He laughed, but I think he knew there is a part of me hoping he goes first.
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Yes - that’s an important point. A divorced spouse of a 10 year marriage loses the divorced spousal benefit if they themselves remarry.
On the flip side, the divorced spouse also does not lose the benefit on their former spouse’s SS if that spouse were to remarry.
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I haven’t read through the whole thread, but in case it is helpful, we have recent experience with this. My husband receives both his own work benefit and a spousal benefit. They did come through under different letters at different times, but it all worked out in the end. No harm in checking, but if you don’t waste time on the phone, you could probably wait and see what happens. Whey they do approve benefits, there will be a true-up covering any delay.
If the divorced spouse were to get divorced from the 2nd marriage, he/she could then claim on the first spouse’s benefits.
Yes, this is an important point, which SS doesn’t much publicize. Folks always receive their own benefit (from their own account) once claimed, with any spousal or survivor benefit (from spouse’s account) is added to their own benefit. Just one check/direct deposit, which is really what anyone cares about, but it comes from two SS accounts.
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The nesting doll of marriages and SS benefits! And a divorced person could also have several ex-spouses and all of them also qualify if they’ve put in 10 years, too 
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But you can only get the highest one, not multiple.
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My ex spouse passed away before I turned 67, and I received his full benefit. There was never any questions of taking my own, until my 70th birthday was coming up. At that time I received a letter from SS saying that we should have a conversation as to whether I might be up for an increase in benefits. I spoke to a rep, and was told forgetabout it, unless I had a plan to return to work. Uh, no way.
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