More and more Americans rely on Social Security to make ends meet. Inflation and soaring prices are shrinking the retirement savings many citizens have. Thus, it is important that you receive monthly payments from the Administration if you have never worked or paid enough taxes to SSA.
If you are married, you may be able to receive Social Security benefits as a spouse. This is possible if you do not have enough work credits to get retirement benefits on your own work record. Increasing your payment if it is too low may also be possible with the help of spousal benefits.
When can a citizen receive Social Security spousal benefits?
Bear in mind that to receive spousal benefits, your spouse must be receiving Social Security benefits. Otherwise, it will not be possible for you to get benefits on his or her record.
As a matter of fact, your spouse may be receiving SSDI or retirement benefits. If your spouse is not collecting any of these benefits yet, you will need to wait until they start getting money from Social Security.
Not all spouses qualify for spousal benefits on the spouse’s record. Therefore, it is essential to check if you can receive spousal benefits or not before you claim them.
Requirements to get spousal benefits
Currently, the Social Security Administration will require applicants of spousal benefits to be at least 62 years old. However, it will be possible for some applicants to avoid this SSA rule.
Actually, you could claim spousal benefits at any age if you have a child who:
- is under 16 and you are taking care of him or her, and
- this child has a disability and is entitled to benefits on your spouse’s record
For your information, the spousal benefit Social Security provides can be as high as half of the worker’s “PIA”. PIA stands for the Primary Insurance Amount. Of course, the amount will also depend if the spouse begins receiving benefits before Full Retirement Age. Spousal benefits is not reduced if you are looking after a qualifying child.