Social Security helps secure your present and future with financial benefits, information, and tools that will support you throughout life’s journey.
If you do not have enough Social Security credits to qualify for benefits on your own record, you may be able to receive benefits as a spouse.
Your spouse must be receiving benefits for you to receive benefits on their record. If your spouse is not receiving retirement or disability benefits, you will need to wait to file the application on your spouse’s record.
Additionally, to be eligible for spouse benefits, you must meet one of the following requirements:
Be: 62 years or older.
Any age if you are caring for a child under 16 or who has a disability and is entitled to benefits on your spouse’s record.
If you wait until you reach full retirement age to receive benefits, you will receive your spouse’s full benefit amount, which is up to half of what your spouse receives.
You will also receive your spouse’s full benefit if you have not reached full retirement age but are caring for a child and one of the following conditions applies:
The child is under 16.
The child has a disability and is entitled to receive benefits on your spouse’s record.
If you receive retirement benefits on your own record, we will pay that amount first.
If your spouse benefits are greater than your own benefits, you will receive a combination of benefits equal to the higher spouse benefit.
Consider this example: Sandra is eligible for a retirement benefit of $1,000 per month and a spouse benefit of $1,250 per month.
If she waits to receive Social Security until she reaches full retirement age, she will receive her own retirement benefit of $1,000. We will add $250 from her spouse benefit, for a total of $1,250 per month.
Sandra only receives an additional spouse benefit because her own benefit is less than half of her spouse’s full retirement age benefit.
Are you ready to apply for your retirement, spouse benefits, or both? Are you at least 61 years and 9 months old? If you answer yes to both questions, visit www.ssa.gov/es/retirement to get started today.
Are you divorced from a marriage that lasted at least 10 years? You may be able to receive benefits under your ex-spouse’s record.
To learn more, visit our website at www.ssa.gov/es/family.
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By: Javier Morales – Social Security Public Affairs Specialist in Florida
Image: RPP
