How Your Spouse Can Get Benefits When You Collect Disability

Disabled workers who've earned enough Social Security work credits can qualify for monthly Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) benefits. And sometimes their spouses can collect a monthly benefit as well.

To be eligible for spousal benefits—that is, SSDI benefits based on the earnings record of your disabled spouse (or disabled ex-spouse), one of the following must be true:

• you've been married to the disabled worker for at least a year
• you're a divorced spouse who was married to the disabled worker for at least 10 years, or
• you're the surviving spouse of a disabled worker who's died.

Here's what this article covers:

Getting a Spouse's Retirement Benefit

If you've been married for at least a year to a husband or wife who receives Social Security disability benefits, you can also get Social Security benefits if you're at least 62 years old. But your eligibility for spousal disability benefits will end if you become eligible to receive significantly higher Social Security benefits on your own work record.

Even though you're allowed to collect benefits at age 62, if you collect spousal benefits before you reach full retirement age (66 or 67), you'll be hit with the early retirement penalty. This penalty doesn't apply if:

• you're caring for your disabled spouse's child under the age of 16
• that child is eligible for a child's SSDI benefit, and
• you're receiving mother's or father's benefits (see below).

What Is the Spouse's Survivor Benefit?

If you were married for at least a year to a disabled worker who died while receiving Social Security disability benefits, as the surviving spouse, you can get benefits in either of these circumstances:

• You're 60 years old or older.
• You're disabled and between 50 and 60 years old.

This benefit is sometimes called the widow or widower's benefit. Note that your surviving spouse's benefits will end if you become eligible to receive significantly higher Social Security benefits on your own work record. And if you remarry before you turn 60 (50 if you're disabled), your Social Security spousal benefits will be denied.

Divorced Spouse's Retirement Benefit

If you're divorced, but you were married for at least ten years to a disabled husband or wife who's collecting SSDI benefits, you can get a divorced spouse's retirement benefit if you're at least 62 years old.

Divorced Spouse's Survivors Benefit

If your ex-spouse was a disabled worker who died while receiving SSDI benefits, you're entitled to divorced spouse's survivors benefits, but only if you were married to your ex for at least ten years and one of the following applies to you:

• You're 60 years old or older.
• You're disabled and between 50 and 60 years old.

But if you remarry before you turn 60, Social Security will deny your benefits unless:

• you were between 50 and 60 and disabled at the time of marriage, or
• your new marriage ended before your ex-spouse (the disabled worker) died.

Who Can Get Mother's or Father's Benefits for Taking Care of a Child?

When an insured worker with children becomes disabled or dies while collecting SSDI, that worker's spouse (or divorced spouse) might be able to get benefits if they take care of the child. These benefits are sometimes known as "mother's or father's benefits," but you don't need to be the child's mother or father to get the benefits.

To qualify, you must care for at least one of the disabled worker's children, and the child in your care must be under the age of 16 or disabled (with a disability that began before the child turned 22).

In the case of a divorced spouse, the ten-year rule (discussed above) doesn't apply if you're applying for mother's or father's benefits. But other restrictions do apply, such as the earnings limit.

If you continue to care for a child after age 16 and the child is disabled, you might be eligible to continue getting Social Security payments. To continue benefits, you must explain to Social Security that:

• you have parental control over and responsibility for a mentally disabled child, or
• you physically care for a child with physical disabilities.

Note: If you're caring for a disabled child over the age of 22, the child must have become disabled before reaching age 22. For more information on eligibility, read more about mother's and father's benefits.

How Much Are Spousal Disability Benefits?

If your husband or wife is a disabled worker getting SSDI, you'll generally receive 50% of your spouse's primary insurance amount (the amount of your husband or wife's monthly SSDI check). For example, if your husband is disabled and receives $1,400 per month, you can get $700 per month.

Spousal Benefit Is Lowered If Children Get Benefits

But if the disabled worker's children are collecting benefits at the same time, Social Security can reduce the amount of your spousal benefit. That's because there's a limit on how much a family can collect in SSDI benefits.

The total of all the benefits your family receives (including the disabled worker's SSDI) can't be more than the maximum family benefit (MFB) allowed by Social Security—generally 150% of the disabled worker's monthly SSDI benefit. Social Security will trim the spouse's and children's benefits to bring your family's total down to the MFB, but the agency will never change the amount of the disabled worker's SSDI payments.

Divorced Spouses Are Treated Differently

The benefits paid to a divorced spouse based on being over 60 or disabled aren't counted toward the maximum family benefit, so they won't affect a current spouse's or child's benefit amount. However, the mother's or father's benefits paid to a divorced spouse do count toward the MFB.

If you're a surviving spouse (or surviving divorced spouse), the amount you'll receive depends on how old you are and whether you're taking care of the deceased worker's children. The amount varies between 75% and 100% of the deceased worker's monthly SSDI benefit.

Amount of Lump-Sum Death Benefit

If your spouse was a disabled worker who died while receiving Social Security benefits, you're entitled to receive a lump-sum death benefit worth a few hundred dollars ($255), if you were living in the same household when your spouse died.

Applying for Spousal Disability Benefits

If your husband or wife's disability claim has already been approved, call the Social Security Administration (SSA) at 800-772-1213 or contact your local Social Security field office to apply for the spouse's SSDI benefit. You must provide Social Security with the following:

• your birth certificate
• your marriage certificate
• your Social Security number (SSN)
• the disabled worker's SSN, and
• your bank's routing information for direct deposit.

If you're applying for a survivor benefit based on a deceased spouse or ex-spouse's earnings record, you'll also need to provide a death certificate or other proof of death from the funeral home.

(Learn more about Social Security dependent benefits.)

_{Updated September 19, 2023}