My wife’s first husband, whom she was married to for 27 years, died in 1996. She and I got married four years later. In 2008, when she turned 62 and started collecting Social Security payments, she was told she couldn’t get benefits on his record. Was that correct?

Yes, it was. It is true that a widow who is remarried may be able to collect survivor benefits from her first husband’s Social Security account. But that’s only if she remarries after turning 60, and your wife was in her 50s when the two of you wed.

Her situation will change if you happen to die before your wife. In that case, she would be able to get a monthly survivor benefit from either your account or her first husband’s record, whichever would lead to higher payments. The difference between that benefit and her own retirement benefit would be added to her monthly payment.

My daughter is 59. She divorced 2½ years ago after 20-plus years of marriage. She is disabled and hasn’t worked for the past 15 years. Her ex is still working and is highly paid. Can my daughter access her ex’s Social Security benefits now?

No. To qualify for spousal benefits, a person must be 62 or older, so your daughter must wait until then to collect off of her ex-husband’s record. Her ex must also be at least 62 for her to collect as a divorced spouse.

Your daughter, however, might consider filing for disability benefits. It sounds like she would not be due Social Security disability benefits, since applicants must have worked and paid Social Security taxes in five of the past 10 years. But if she has little or no income and few assets, she might be due monthly Supplemental Security Income disability payments. She should call Social Security at 800-772-1213 to check into this. If your daughter does get SSI, she’ll have to file for her divorced-spouse benefits at 62. Her SSI payment will then be adjusted accordingly.

I divorced 15 years ago after 26 years of marriage and never remarried. My ex-husband is 66, and I don’t know if he’s collecting Social Security. When I turn 62 next year, can I collect on my ex’s work record, then collect on my own record when I turn 67?

First things first: Your ex does not have to be collecting Social Security in order for you to be due spousal benefits on his record. He merely has to be 62 or older.

But while you’re potentially due benefits on his record, you cannot collect spousal benefits from your ex-husband’s record at one age and then switch to your own benefits later on. Why? Because Social Security has a “deemed filing” rule: If you are eligible for both retirement benefits and spousal benefits, you are automatically considered (or “deemed”) to have filed for both benefits when you file for one or the other.

This deemed filing rule applies to currently married spouses and divorced spouses, but it does not apply to widows. So if your ex were dead, you could choose to take divorced widow’s benefits now and switch to your own benefits at a later date.