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. In 1939, spousal and survivor benefits were added to provide monthly benefits to qualified spouse and survivors of workers.
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 maximize 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 for Homemakers
However, non working spouses may qualify for Social Security 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.
[Note: The budget deal passed in November 2015 eliminated the file and suspend and restricted application strategies. For more information, please read Budget Deal Eliminates File and Suspend Social Security Filing Strategy.]
You may also like:
What You Don’t Know About Social Security Spousal Benefits Can Hurt You
Social Security’s Gift to Married Couples: Spousal Benefits
Q&A: Can I Collect Spousal Benefits First, Then Switch to My Own Benefit Later?
Social Security Eligibility: How to Qualify for Social Security Retirement Benefits
Social Security Spousal Benefits: Applying for Benefits
Ron S says
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.
kristine says
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 W says
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.
kristine says
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.
Brenda says
Am I to understand that I cannot draw from my husband of 40 plus years at 62 unless he has filed for social security himself? I have been a full time homemaker so have no benefits of my own to draw from. He would like to go ahead and work and retire at a later date.
kristine says
That’s correct. A spouse cannot collect spousal benefits unless her husband has already applied for benefits. Once your husband reaches full retirement age he can file and suspend; this will allow you to collect spousal benefits and he can continue to work and allow his benefit to grow. However this strategy cannot be implemented before he reaches full retirement age.
Amy says
My husband is 74 and collecting his SS benefits. I am 10 years younger and still working. At this time my own calculated benefits is more than 50% of what he collects. Does this mean I am not entitled for a spousal benefit?
kristine says
Amy – Yes and no. Spousal benefits are not in addition to your own benefits, so in general if your own benefits are higher than the amount you would receive based on your spouse’s earnings, then you will receive your own benefit when you apply for Social Security. However, if you apply for retirement benefits at your full retirement age (or later) you can choose to receive the spousal benefit, even if it is lower than your own benefit. The advantage of doing this is it allows your own benefit to continue growing. I hope this helps.
danny says
my father in-law started receiving disability benefits when he was in his late forties (in the early 1970s)and bought a home and paid it off, about ten years ago he put the house in his daughters name. he passed away 6 years ago, will the house stay in the family or will the government get it?
kristine says
Danny – Why would the government get the house? Your father in law paid into Social Security and received disability benefits based on his contributions to Social Security and his health. Disability benefits are not based on your financial situation so there is no reason to believe that the government would take the house.
Kevin says
I am 50 years old and my wife (for 17 years) is 67, she is and always was a home maker would like to know how she can get something for all the years of hard work taking care of her late husband and her present husband. We tried Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid just to be told no. Now I tried to find Insurance for her and was told by all she was to old to insure. Is there any help out by any one or anything, PLEASE?
kristine says
How long was your wife married to her late husband? She may qualify for survivor benefits on his record. Survivor benefits can start as early as age 60, so she meets the age requirement. She should contact Social Security directly to discuss whether she qualifies for survivor benefits or not. If she qualifies for survivor benefits on her late husband’s record, she should also qualify for Medicare. The fact that you said you already tried Social Security and Medicare tells me she may not have been married long enough to her late husband to qualify. If that’s the case, then she will have to wait until you retire to collect Social Security on your record.
Kevin says
She was married to her late husband for 33 Years. We asked SS 2 years ago and they said the only way she could draw anything is if we were divorced and she could draw off either of us. We do not want to get a divorce!!
kristine says
I missed the part about you being married for 17 years (in your first comment). If your wife remarried before age 60, then that is correct, she can’t receive survivor benefits on her first husband’s record while she is married to you. If she had started receiving survivor benefits at age 60 and then remarried she would have been able to continue those benefits. https://www.ssa.gov/survivorplan/ifyou5.htm#a0=0
pamela says
I was married for 9 years and 7 months is that not close enough to draw for hid ss or va pension
kristine says
Hi Pamela. Unfortunately you must have been married for 10 years or longer to collect Social Security benefits on your ex-spouse’s earnings history. https://www.ssa.gov/retire2/yourdivspouse.htm
It looks like you were three months short. The SSA is very strict on this rule; even someone who was married for 9 years, 11 months and 364 days would not qualify under this rule. This rule is assuming that you are divorced from your ex-spouse. If he passed away while you were still married, then the rules are different.
I am not familiar with the rules for VA pensions. You can find out about VA benefits for dependents or survivors here: https://www.va.gov/opa/persona/dependent_survivor.asp
s says
Who pays for the money the spouse gets when they have never earned any money??
Frank B says
Kristine, I am not at retirement age yet (years to go still…) but wanted to know if my wife can get any SS benefits when she reaches 62? We have been married for 10 years so far and she only worked less than two years before we had our daughter. She is now a housewife and not working. We are concerned once we are older about social security and medical benefits upon our reaching retirement age. Can you inform me of our options, or whom to call to ask the right questions?
kristine says
Well, the working spouse has been contributing to Social Security, so theoretically I suppose you could say he/she pays for the spouse who never worked. In reality though, all workers who contribute to Social Security are paying the benefits for the people who are collecting Social Security. There are many people who collect Social Security that may not have contributed to it (children of retired or deceased workers), or who may not have contributed for their entire career (disabled people), so it’s not just non-working spouses who receive benefits paid for by others. There may be some flaws in how Social Security works, but the spousal benefit (and survivor and disabled benefit) are there for a reason. Thanks for your question!
kristine says
Frank – Thank you for the question. Your wife can qualify for spousal and/or survivor benefits based on your work record, even if she hasn’t worked enough to qualify on her own. In order to receive spousal benefits she will need to be at least age 62 and you will either need to be collecting benefits or have filed for benefits (you can file and suspend if you want your wife to be able to collect spousal benefits before you are ready to collect retirement benefits). In general, the spousal benefit is half of your benefit that you would receive at your full retirement age. However, if your wife applied for benefits at age 62, the spousal benefit will be reduced by up to 32%. Once your wife is ready to apply for benefits she can do so here: https://secure.ssa.gov/iClaim/rib. To estimate your own benefit, and get an idea of what your wife might be able to collect as your spouse, please use the calculator found here: https://www.ssa.gov/retire2/estimator.htm.
Jim says
My Wife and I have been married for 42 years. Now that it is suppose to be our golden years, we can no longer get along and talking about divorce. She is a homemaker of 40 years. I am still working. She is 62 and I am 63. If I still work and we are divorced, can she recieve social security, if I choose not to retire and file for social security yet?
kristine says
I’m sorry to hear that you are considering divorce after 42 years of marriage. Divorced spouses can collect benefits based on their ex-spouse’s record as long as they are unmarried, age 62 or older, and the ex-spouse is entitled to Social Security retirement benefits. So in general, an ex-spouse does not have to wait for their ex to file for benefits as long as they are eligible to receive then. However, you must be divorced for at least two years in order to collect benefits on an ex-spouse’s record who has not yet started collecting benefits. So, if you had already been divorced for two years she could collect benefits on your record; if you divorce now, she will have to wait for two years or for you to file for benefits in order to collect the ex-spouse benefit. I hope that helps.
Jim says
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. It was very helpful.