I've been married for 17 years, my wife is not a US citizen, but does have a TIN. She never wanted to live permanently in US, and my thought was we would live in Asia after retirement. She has never worked in US, mostly just visited for months at a time. My question is, will she be eligible for spousal benefits when she turns 62, I'm currently 69 and have filed one year ago. We are now rethinking the issue of where to live and understand she will apply for a green card if the decision is to live in US.

Thank you.

Hi,

As a non-U.S. citizen, your wife would have to be lawfully present in order to receive benefits while in the U.S. (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.17/handbook-1725.html). The answer to whether or not your wife could receive payments while outside the united states depends on such factors as her country of citizenship, country of residence, and her past history of residence in the U.S. For more information on these provisions, refer to this Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10137.pdf.

Best, Jerry