Hi. My husband is eligible for disability benefits. I am 61. Am I eligible for any benefit or do I need to wait and claim on my own earnings record?

Hi,

You couldn't qualify for spousal benefits until you're at least age 62, unless you have a child in your care who is eligible for benefits on your husband's record and who is either under age 16 or disabled. Even after you reach age 62 you could only qualify for spousal benefits if 50% of your husband's primary insurance amount (PIA) is higher than your own PIA. A person's PIA is equal to the amount of their Social Security retirement benefit if they start drawing at full retirement age (FRA), or the full unreduced amount of a person's Social Security disability (SSDI) benefit. Since you were born after January 1 1954, you couldn't file for spousal benefits without filing for your own benefits at the same time, assuming that you don't have an eligible child in your care.

The requirements for eligibility for spousal benefits can be found in the following section of Social Security's handbook: https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.03/handbook-0305.html. You may want to consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully explore all of your filing options so that you can choose the best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry