I been on disability for quite awhile age 58 now. My husband passed at age 66. He was just getting retirement. I get widow benefits with my disability. Why can't I qualify for his spousal? He was getting 3000 a mtg now I dont get it

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

You can't get a both Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits and full widow's benefits at the same time. You could, however, possibly qualify for a partial disabled widow's benefit in addition to your SSDI benefits, but only if your husband's primary insurance amount (PIA) is higher than your PIA. A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing at full retirement age (FRA), or their full SSDI rate.

If your husband was getting a higher benefit rate than you are then it sounds like you probably should qualify for some disabled widow's benefits (DWB). If you haven't already filed for DWB then you should probably contact Social Security as soon as possible to see about filing an application. If you do qualify for DWB your benefit rate would be reduced for age, but the age reduction would be removed once you reach FRA since your SSDI entitlement started before you became eligible for widow's benefits.

Best, Jerry