You can still be eligible for Social Security benefits even if you have never worked!
This is where the spousal benefits kick in, and you may be able to receive Social Security benefits even if you have not worked the amount needed in order to qualify for these benefits. In the basic rules regarding these benefits, you need to be able to prove that you have earned “40 quarters of coverage” so that you can be approved to receive them. Yet, one of the loopholes that are available in the system is related to your partner.
If you’re married to someone who has already retired, then you may be eligible to receive 50% of the sum that they are receiving through their benefits after you have reached full retirement age. The key thing here is that you will only be able to receive these types of payments from Social Security when you reach full retirement age and not before as a person who has been working can.
Another provision is that if your spouse has started taking them early, then both of you will be receiving the benefits with the respective deductions based on when they started to receive the payments. However, there is an exception: if you are caring for a child that qualifies, then you may be able to avoid getting hit with benefit reductions.
If you have worked and you also qualify for Social Security, even if you have been out of the workforce for a period of time, you may be entitled to receive more than 50% of your spouse’s full benefit. In that case, you will be receiving the amount that is higher between your own benefit and the one you would have received based on your spouse’s benefit!
If you wish to understand Social Security better, we recommend that you read more on the subject here!
Leave a Reply