MY HUSBAND IS A FEDERAL RETIREE RECEIVING PENSION AND SOCIAL SECURITY. HE STARTED RECEIVING SSI THIS YEAR AT AGE OF 70 AND 1/2. I AM WORKING PART TIME AND I WILL BE 69. I RAISED 9 CHILDREN AND I AM CATCHING UP MY SSI BENEFITS, WHICH, IF I RETIRED AT 69 WOULD ONLY BE 640 A MONTH. IF MY HUSBAND PREDECEASES ME I WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR HIS SSI BENEFIT AND WILL GET A PORTION OF HIS PENSION. AM I ELEGIBLE FOR SPOUSAL BENEFITS UNDER HIS SSI ? IF I AM IF I OUTLIVE HIM COULD I SWITCH OVER TO MY SSI BASED ON MY EARNED INCOME IF HIS SSI IS TERMINATED?

Hi,

While your husband is living you could potentially receive the higher of a) your own Social Security retirement benefit rate, or b) 50% of your husband's full retirement age rate (FRA). If your husband dies before you, you could get the higher of a) your own retirement benefit rate, or b) your husband's full benefit rate inclusive of any delayed retirement credits he earned by waiting past FRA to start drawing his benefits. Furthermore, if your husband's benefit rate is currently being reduced due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/wep.html), that reduction would not apply when determining how much you could potentially receive as a widow.

If you haven't yet filed for any Social Security benefits it sounds like you could potentially claim spousal benefits only on your husband's record now while allowing your own benefit rate to grow until age 70. But whether or not that would be your best possible strategy depends on your and your husband's relative benefit rates, with and without the WEP reduction if applicable in your husband's case. Our maximization software is programmed to handle both WEP and non-WEP calculations, so you may want to strongly consider using it to do your Social Security planning.

Best, Jerry