I worked for NYC civil service for 12 years and receive a small pension from them. My husband died in 2014. Can I collect any part of his social security. I am crippled and have a bad case of diverticulitis and I could use anything that I can get from my husband's social security. He worked for 30 years prior to getting injured and disabled, so hE SHOULD HAVE A BIG ACCOUNT.

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

It's possible that you could be entitled to benefits on your husband's record, but if you didn't pay Social Security taxes on your civil service job then any widow's benefits to which you are entitled would likely be offset by 2/3rds of the amount of your pension (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf). That may still leave some benefits payable, though, so you'll probably want to contact Social Security to see if you're eligible.

You must be at least age 60 in order to qualify for widow's benefits or at least age 50 to qualify for disabled widow's benefits. The additional requirements can be found in this section of Social Security's handbook: https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0401.html.

Best, Jerry