In order to qualify for a full Social Security benefit, you have to have worked 40 quarters, which equates to 10 years, earning a minimum of at least $1,640 per quarter. However, what if you elected to stay home, raise your kids and never worked for 40 quarters? Or even if you got your 40 quarters in, what if you didn’t earn enough income to get much of a benefit. Can you still receive Social Security as a stay-at-home mom or dad? The good news is you can.
If you are a married person with little to no earnings history, you can receive a benefit up to half of your spouse’s Social Security. More specifically, you receive half of your spouse’s “primary insurance amount,” which is the benefit they receive at their Social Security full retirement age, which right now is age 66 or 67 for most people.
When you receive half of your spouse’s Social Security, this is known as the "spousal benefit."
There are a few rules and restrictions to keep in mind if you want to claim this benefit:
You should take the greater of your own Social Security benefit, or half of your spouse’s.
You must be at least 62 years of age and, if you apply before your full retirement age, the benefit will be reduced. For example, if your full retirement age is 66, and you take it at 62, you receive 70% of the amount you’re entitled to at age 66.
As of May 1, 2016, your spouse has to be receiving their Social Security in order for you to take the spousal benefit, unless they were grandfathered in under the old “file and suspend” rule.
Generally, you must be married for one year before you can get spouse’s benefits. However, if you are the parent of your spouse’s child, the one-year rule does not apply.
Only one spouse in a marriage can claim this spousal benefit.
Keep in mind, if you are still working and you take a spousal benefit before your full retirement age, part or all of your benefits may be withheld depending on how much money you make. If you make more than $21,240 per year, then for every $2 you earn above this threshold, $1 in benefits is withheld. You don’t lose these withheld benefits. They will be added into your monthly benefit later when you stop working or reach full retirement age. At that time, your benefit is recalculated and includes the withheld benefits to make the overall benefit higher.
Also, if you are divorced, you can receive a spousal benefit as long as the marriage lasted 10 years. You must be at least 62 years of age, you can't be married at the time you apply, and your ex-spouse must be at least 62.
The big difference in the case of a divorce is that your ex-spouse doesn't have to file for his or her benefit in order for you to receive the spousal benefit as long as you have been divorced for at least two years.
Finally, in a case where you are a widow, you can actually claim the deceased spouse’s benefit as early as age 60 as long as the marriage lasted nine months, and instead of receiving half of your deceased spouse’s Social Security, you will receive 100% of the deceased spouse's earned benefit if you file at your full retirement age. Keep in mind this survivors benefit will be reduced if you apply early.
Disclaimer
This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.
A stay-at-home mother (alternatively, stay-at-home mom or SAHM) is a mother who is the primary caregiver of the children. The male equivalent is the stay-at-home dad. The gender-neutral term is stay-at-home parent. Stay-at-home mom is distinct from a mother taking paid or unpaid parental leave from her job.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Stay-at-home_mother
or dad who has a work history may qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). They must have accumulated sufficient work credits through contributions made to the Social Security system, a prerequisite for benefits.
Just because you don't bring home a paycheck doesn't mean you're not working. A stay-at-home parent can get a Social Security check just like any other worker.
The wife of a retired worker is eligible for a spousal benefit of up to 50 percent of her husband's primary insurance amount ( PIA ), if claimed at her full retirement age ( FRA ).
Even if you have never worked in a job covered by Social Security, as a parent, there are two ways that you may still be eligible for benefits. If you are a parent and take care of your child who receives Social Security benefits and is under age 18, you can get benefits until your child reaches age 16.
A wife with no work record or low benefit entitlement on her own work record is eligible for between one-third and one-half of her spouse's Social Security benefit.
A stay-at-home parent can get a Social Security check just like any other worker. Here's how. In order to qualify for a full Social Security benefit, you have to have worked 40 quarters, which equates to 10 years, earning a minimum of at least $1,640 per quarter.
For a spouse who is not entitled to benefits on his or her own earnings record, this reduction factor is applied to the base spousal benefit, which is 50 percent of the worker's primary insurance amount.
If you don't have enough Social Security credits to get benefits on your own work record or your own benefit is small, you may be able to receive benefits as a spouse. Your spouse must be receiving benefits for you to get benefits on their work record.
Answer: The short answer is "No" for SSDI and "Yes" for SSI! If the applicant has never worked, they will not be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). SSDI eligibility criteria require that you have worked long enough and recently enough to be insured for Social Security disability.
But even if you never worked and therefore don't have an earnings record, you're not necessarily out of luck. If you're married (or were married) to someone who's entitled to Social Security, you can collect spousal benefits equal to 50% of your husband or wife's benefits at full retirement age.
The Social Security 5-year rule refers specifically to disability benefits. It requires that you must have worked five out of the last ten years immediately before your disability onset to qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
Some American workers do not qualify for Social Security retirement benefits. Workers who don't accrue the requisite 40 credits (roughly 10 years of employment) are not eligible for Social Security. Some government and railroad employees are not eligible for Social Security.
Each survivor benefit can be up to 100% of your benefit. The amount may be reduced if the women start benefits before their own full retirement age, but they don't have to share — the amount isn't reduced because you've had more than one spouse.
You currently have fewer than the 40 credits needed to become fully insured for retirement benefits. You can still earn credits and become fully insured if you work. We cannot pay you benefits if you don't have enough credits.
As a stay-at-home mother with limited work history, you may still contribute to a Roth IRA for your retirement, provided you have earned income or your spouse has earned income if filing jointly. You can open a Roth IRA through most financial institutions, including banks, brokerages, and investment firms.
If you have no record of paying into the system, you will not receive payouts. If you have not reported income and evaded taxes for a lifetime, then you will receive no Social Security benefits.
Government Programs: There are government programs available that offer financial aid to stay-at-home moms, including housing assistance and food assistance programs.
Introduction: My name is Duane Harber, I am a modern, clever, handsome, fair, agreeable, inexpensive, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
