I have a permanent disability (Parkinson's) , am 64, and recently widowed. My husband died within 5 hours of qualifying for disability from a nasty form of cancer. He passed on the last day of the month and the letter arrived from Social Security approving him as of the first of the next month. For the last few years, after he was retired from his job of 35 years, he had been working several part-time jobs. My husband was a great guy and tried as hard as he could to show up for his part-time work as long as possible. It seems a shame that because of his dedication, this benefit is lost. You need to be disabled for five months. Gee, when death gets in the way of showing up for the job, can't that count?

Even without disability, my husband's social security is higher than mine. Is it possible for me to appeal for the disability benefit from his benefits? What is required for me to receive disability benefits based on my own history, please?

Hi,

I am sorry for your loss and about your illness.

I believe that you could file an appeal on your husband's behalf if it's filed within 60 days of the disallowance notice, or you could file a new claim for disability benefits on his behalf if you file it within 3 months of his month of death. There is a full 5 month waiting period from the time a person stops doing substantial gainful work (roughly $1170 per month) until they can qualify for Social Security disability benefits, though, and I don't have enough details about your husband's circumstances to know if there would be much chance of success in your case.

You may qualify for disability benefits yourself if your condition is severe enough to keep you from working, and you have at least 40 quarters of Social Security coverage, at least 20 of which must have been earned within the 10 year period leading up to the onset of your disability (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.02/handbook-0207.html).

You don't mention whether or not you are already receiving retirement benefits on your own record, nor whether or not your husband received retirement benefits before he died. Therefore, I can't give you much advice on your best filing strategy. You may want to strongly consider using the maximization software available on this website in order to determine your best course of action.

Best, Jerry