Hi Larry i have a couple questions to ask if thats ok my first question is i have been receiving social security disability also social security its barely enough for me to pay my rent and maybe one bill my question is is there anything that i can do or what can i do to receive more from social security? My second question is my mom is 65 years old she will be turning 66 in december my question for that is she recieves widows benifits my dad passed away in 05 they were married over 20 plus years together over 34 years can she start to recieve survivors benifits and also my dads social security and still receive her widows pay

Hi,

I can't answer your first question without more information. If you're married or if you're a widow or if you were married for 10 years or more and divorced then you may be able to qualify for additional Social Security benefits on a spouse's record. The requirements for auxiliary and survivor benefits vary by type of benefit, so I don't know if you'd qualify.

Or, if the monthly amount of your Social Security disability (SSDI) benefit is less than $803, then you may be eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits if you have no other income and if your countable assets are under $2,000 (https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/).

I'm not sure if I understand your other question. If your mother is already drawing Social Security widow's benefits from your father's record, then she's already receiving survivor benefits. A person's actual Social Security benefits terminate at death, and only survivor benefits to eligible family members can be paid from a person's Social Security record after their death. If your mother qualifies for Social Security benefits based on her own Social Security record or from a different spouse's record, she could only be paid the higher benefit rate. No one can be paid more than one full Social Security benefit at the same time.

Best, Jerry