Social Security Eligibility: Can A Full-Time Homemaker Collect Social Security?

When Social Security was first launched, most families only had one bread-earner, and only the working spouse qualified for retirement benefits. This caused financial difficulties 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 allow wives to collect benefits based on their husband's earnings.

The family dynamic has changed a lot since Social Security was introduced back in 1935, but there are still many families where one spouse does not work, and therefore does not qualify for retirement benefits based on their own earnings.

There are several requirements in order to be eligible for Social Security retirement benefits, like:

- Age: In order to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits, you must be at least age 62. Other benefits, such as survivor benefits or disability benefits may be collected at an earlier age, but the Social Security eligibility criteria require you to be age 62 before you can apply for retirement benefits.

- Work Credits: You must work in a Social Security covered job (i.e., where you contribute to Social Security by payroll tax deductions) for a minimum of 40 credits to qualify for retirement benefits. You can earn up to four credits per year; so essentially, you must work for 10 years to meet the criteria for Social Security.

- Citizenship or Residency Status: Many people will be surprised to learn that you do not have to be a U.S. citizen to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits. People who pay into the Social Security program may qualify for benefits even if they are not U.S. citizens, however they must live in the U.S. to actually collect benefits.

And so... do spouses qualify for Social Security? Given the Social Security eligibility requirements listed above, most full-time homemakers will not qualify for retirement benefits per se, unless they were employed for 10 years (40 credits) before they became a homemaker.

However, homemakers may qualify for benefits based on their spouse's earnings. Social Security spousal benefits help husbands and wives to collect retirement benefits based on their spouse's earnings if they result in a higher benefit than their own. To be more specific, a spouse who has not worked or who has substantially lower earnings than their husband or wife can get up to as much as half of their spouse's full retirement benefit.

In addition to spousal benefits, homemakers may also qualify for Social Security survivor benefits. Widows and widowers can start getting Social Security benefits based on their deceased spouse's earnings beginning at age 60 (age 50 if they are disabled). Children of deceased workers who are under age 18 (19 if they are still in high school) could also qualify for survivor benefits. This is very beneficial for families with young children when the main bread earner passes away at an early age.

While full-time homemakers who have never worked or who were working for less than 10 years generally won't qualify for Social Security retirement benefits on their own, as you can see, they may be eligible for benefits based on their husband's earnings. Note: while this article has assumed that the homemaker is lady, Social Security is gender neutral, so males who choose to stay home to raise the kids can also qualify for spousal and survivor benefits.

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