My children’s father died 4 years ago! He wasn’t working a full time job. My daughter qualified for social security because she was only 13. My son being that he just turned 18 and was going to college full time , was not eligible! A case worker also suggested that I apply for spousal sosial security , yet when I mentioned it to the next case worker she laughed and said no, you don’t qualify! And that was that! Did I qualify for social security or not.

Hi. Possibly, but only if you were married to the deceased at some point. A mother or father can qualify for survivor benefits if they have a child in their care who is under age 16 or disabled even if they were divorced from the deceased worker, but not if they were never married to the deceased.

The requirements for mother's benefits are outlined in the following section of Social Security's handbook: https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0415.html, and the requirements for divorced mother's are outlined in this section: https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0416.html. If you think you did qualify for benefits but you never applied for them, the only way that you could possibly claim back pay is if you can establish that you didn't apply because you were given misinformation. The requirements for that are explained in the following section of Social Security's operations manual: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200204008.

Best, Jerry