I have so many problems with this,I married in 1994 for the 4th time, we were married 4 years when he was diagnosed as terminal with cancer. He lived until 1999. I was 57 when he passed away, therefore, I am drawing his social security and started at age 60 as I was a widow. I was married before him and this man has now started drawing at age 62 and is remarried to his exwife. I am not getting enough to live on but was wondering that since he and I were married almost 18 years and have been divorced about 17 years, can I draw any larger amount from him?? I can see that you have researched all of this and there seem to be a lot of problems with what and from who you can draw off of. I have been struggling to make it for over 10 years, any help would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Mary Clark

there is one more factor in making the decision to take social security early....if anyone does this, there is a limit on how much you can earn while taking it early until your natural retirement age.
If you earn more than around $11,000 or so in those 4 years till 66 years old...the social security amount comes down. So one is limited a lot to how much they can earn in those 4 years if they are still wanting to work/earn. Very important factor for those who just want a boost from 62 to 66 while they are still working. It is a very important part of the decision equation that you didn't mention. Probably the most important consideration....in my opinion.
Thank you for making these videos.