Hi I'm 52 years old and my husband died last year he was drawing supplemental income because of he didn't pay enough in to get the other . His was the only income . I have applied for disability myself and was denied. I have been mentally unable to reapply do to loosing him. I am pretty much homeless and unable to work . Can I draw his disability?

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

I wish that I could give you better news, but the answer to your question is no. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a needs based benefit that can be paid to people who are either blind, disabled, or age 65 or older and who have little of no other means of support. Unlike Social Security, SSI is not an social insurance program that requires a person to be insured for benefits in order to qualify. As a result, no survivor or spousal benefits can be paid to the family members of an SSI recipient.

If your husband was not insured for Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits but he did have enough work credits to potentially allow payment of survivor benefits then you might be able to qualify for disabled widow's benefits (DWB), but only if Social Security considers you to be disabled. You would need to be at least age 60 in order to qualify for non-disabled widow's benefits, and you'd only qualify if your husband had enough work credits to be insured for the payment of survivor benefits. The medical requirements for DWB benefits are basically the same as the requirements for entitlement to SSDI and SSI disability.

I hope that you'll be able to get help from some source. You may want to contact the Department of Social Services or other needs based programs in your area to see if they have any suggestions for you.

Best, Jerry