When Social Security was first established, most families only had one bread-earner, and only the working spouse entitled for retirement benefits. This caused financial challenges for the spouse who didn't work (and therefore didn't qualify for Social Security) if the working spouse died first. Thankfully the Social Security Administration recognized this hardship and amended the law to let wives to collect benefits based on their husband's income.
The family dynamic has changed a lot since Social Security was established back in 1935, but there are still several families where one spouse does not work, and therefore does not qualify for retirement benefits based on their own income.
There are several requirements in order to be eligible for Social Security retirement benefits, such as:
- Age: In order to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits, you should be at least age 62. Other benefits, like survivor benefits or disability benefits may be collected at an earlier age, but the Social Security eligibility rules expect you to be age 62 before you can apply for retirement benefits.
- Work Credits: You have to work in a Social Security covered job (i.e., where you contribute to Social Security by means of payroll tax deductions) for at least 40 credits to be eligible for retirement benefits. You can gain up to four credits per year; so essentially, you must work for 10 years to be eligible for Social Security.
- Citizenship or Residency Status: Many of us will be surprised to learn that you do not need to be a U.S. citizen to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits. Employees who pay into the Social Security system may qualify for benefits even if they are not U.S. nationals, however they must stay in the U.S. to actually collect benefits.
So... do spouses qualify for Social Security? Considering Social Security eligibility requirements stated above, most full-time homemakers will not qualify for retirement benefits themselves, unless they worked for 10 years (40 credits) before they became a homemaker.
But, homemakers are entitled for benefits based on their spouse's earnings. Social Security spousal benefits allow husbands and wives to receive retirement benefits based on their spouse's earnings if they result in a more benefit than their own. To be more specific, a spouse who has not worked or who has considerably lower earnings than their husband or wife can receive up to as much as half of their spouse's total retirement benefit.
Apart from spousal benefits, homemakers may also qualify for Social Security survivor benefits. Widows and widowers can start collecting Social Security benefits based on their departed spouse's earnings beginning at age 60 (age 50 if they are disabled). Children of deceased employees who are under age 18 (19 if they are still in high school) can also qualify for survivor benefits. This is very helpful for families with small children when the main bread earner dies at an early age.
While full-time homemakers who have never worked or who have worked for less than 10 years normally won't qualify for Social Security retirement benefits on their own, as you can see, they may be eligible for benefits depending on their husband's earnings. Note: while this article has assumed that the homemaker is woman, Social Security is gender neutral, so men who choose to stay home to bring up the kids can also qualify for spousal and survivor benefits.
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