Hello I am a gay man .my husband by common law(I believe) died in April 23 2010.i am on ssi .we were together for 20 years .i was told I couldnt Do anything until I was 48 years old. Am I eligible for his retirement fund we both helped each other so he could retire comfortably. I would at least even somewhere I can at least get this on paper

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

When you refer to your husband's retirement fund, I assume you mean his Social Security account. Social Security follows state law with regard to recognizing common-law marriages, so whether or not you'd meet the marriage requirement for survivor benefits depends on the law of the state(s) in which you and your husband resided. I'm not an expert on the state laws, but the following section of Social Security's operations manual outlines the various state regulations: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200305075.

If you do meet the marriage requirement, the earliest that you can qualify for widower benefits is at age 60, or at age 50 if you're disabled (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0401.html). If you think that you might meet the requirements for survivor benefits, you can file an application with Social Security in order to get a formal determination.

Best, Jerry