Social Security Eligibility Rules
One of the most common Social Security eligibility questions is whether a spouse who doesn’t work can qualify for retirement benefits.
When Social Security was first established, most families only had one bread-earner, and only the working spouse qualified for retirement income. This caused financial difficulties for the spouse who didn’t work (and therefore didn’t qualify for retirement benefits) if the working spouse passed away first. Thankfully the Social Security Administration recognized this hardship and amended the law to allow wives to collect based on their husband’s earnings.
The family dynamic has changed a lot since Social Security was established back in 1935, but there are still many families where one spouse does not work, and therefore does not qualify for retirement benefits based on their own earnings.
Social Security Eligibility: Retirement Benefits
There are several requirements in order to be eligible for Social Security retirement benefits, including:
• Age: In order to qualify for Social Security retirement income, you must be at least age 62. Other benefits, such as survivor benefits or disability benefits may be collected at an earlier age, but the Social Security eligibility rules require you to be age 62 before you can apply for retirement benefits. On the other hand, you can delay collecting benefits until age 70; if you are still working or you want to m
aximize your retirement income.
• Work Credits: You must work in a covered job (i.e., where you contribute to Social Security through payroll tax deductions) for at least 40 credits to qualify for retirement benefits. You can earn up to four credits per year; so essentially, you must work for 10 years to be eligible for Social Security. In order to earn a work credit, you must earn a minimum dollar amount; in 2009 this minimum was $1,090. Credits do not have to be earned consecutively, which allows for people to leave the workforce for several years (to raise a family, etc.) and return to work later without losing their work credits already earned.
• Citizenship or Residency Status: Many people will be surprised to learn that you do not have to be a U.S. citizen to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits. The Social Security eligibility rules allow workers who pay into the system to qualify for benefits even if they are not U.S. citizens. You must live in the United States when you collect retirement benefits if you are a non-citizen (U.S. citizens may reside outside the U.S. and still collect benefits), and you must meet the other requirements to be eligible for retirement benefits.
Given the Social Security eligibility requirements listed above, most full-time homemakers will not qualify for benefits on their own, unless they worked for 10 years (40 credits) before they became a homemaker.
Social Security Eligibility: Spousal Benefits
However, homemakers may qualify for benefits based on their spouse’s earnings. Spousal benefits allow husbands and wives to collect retirement benefits based on their spouse’s earnings if they result in a higher benefit than their own. To be more specific, a spouse who has not worked or who has significantly lower earnings than their husband or wife can receive up to as much as half of their spouse’s full retirement benefit. In addition, homemakers can collect benefits on their ex-spouse’s earnings if they were married for at least ten years and they are currently unmarried.
In addition to spousal benefits, homemakers may also qualify for survivor benefits. Widows and widowers can start collecting benefits based on their deceased spouse’s earnings beginning at age 60 (age 50 if they are disabled). Children of deceased workers who are under age 18 (19 if they are still in high school) may also qualify for survivor benefits. This is very helpful for families with young children when the main bread earner passes away at an early age.
While full-time homemakers who have never worked or who have worked for less than 10 years generally won’t qualify for Social Security retirement benefits on their own, as you can see, they may be eligible for benefits based on their husband’s earnings. Note: while this article has assumed that the homemaker is female, Social Security is gender neutral, so men who choose to stay home to raise the kids can also qualify for spousal and survivor benefits.
Social Security retirement benefits are an important part of most people’s retirement income. There are many rules regarding when you can collect benefits which will affect your retirement income. Whether you are a career person or a homemaker, it’s important that you understand the Social Security eligibility rules so you can maximize your Social Security income.
Related posts:
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I am 63, retired and collecting $1740.00 a month in social security benefits. My wife is 63 and still working and not collecting social security at present.
1. If she decides to collect social security can she collect now based on my retirement benefits (approximately half of what I receive) and delay taking her own until she reaches full retirement age (66) and then switch over to hers which will be approximately $1500.00 a month at age 66? If she collects on mine until 66, will that reduce my monthly benefits in any way?
2. Also, if she were to collect on mine, with the intention of waiting to claim hers until she reaches full retirement age, can she continue to work? Say she would collect $700.00 a month if claiming under spousal benefits, makes $35,000 a year, and intends to work until 66 when she can claim her own full social security benefit – she would have to pay back $1.00 for every $2.00 over $14400 earned? Is there a cap on that, as the amount she has to pay back would be more than the social security benefit?
Thank you for your assistance.
I am 73 yrs. old and currently receive $860 SS monthly. I have been divorced well over 10 yrs. and would like to apply for spousal benefits because I think that it will be more that I already get and help me through this economic crunch. Is it a possibility that I will actually get more? I work part time, so if I get his benefits can I revert back to my own account after I have earned enough credits to increase my monthly amount?
This information would be very helpful to me and I appreciate your timely response.
Ron, thank you for the question. To answer your questions…
1. Since your wife is under full retirement age, if she applies for benefits now, she will receive whichever benefit is higher – her own or half of yours. If she was already at full retirement age, then she could collect benefits on your record and delay collecting on her own, but this strategy is not available for individuals under the full retirement age.
2. She could continue to work, but she could not earn more than $14,160 (2011 limit) without being penalized. You are correct that she would have to pay back $1 for every $2 over the limit, so it would not make sense for her to collect benefits before her full retirement age if she plans on continuing to work.
Doris – thank you for your comment/question. It’s possible that you may qualify for divorced spouse benefits, but you must have been married for at least 10 years to your former spouse (it doesn’t matter how long you have been divorced), and you must not be remarried when you apply for benefits. However you will receive the higher of your own benefits or half of the benefits based on your ex-husband’s earnings, not both. Social Security should have calculated your benefit based on your own earnings and your ex-husband’s when you applied, so you may already be getting the maximum benefit. It never hurts to check though. You should either visit your local Social Security office or call 1-800-772-1213.
{ 2 trackbacks }