I am 52 and husband is 62. I have been on disability for 10 years. If my husband took his retirement he would get next to nothing. Would he be elegible for my disability under spousal support? If so what percentage of my check would he received?

Hi,

If your husband files for spousal benefits he'll be deemed to also be filing for his own Social Security retirement benefits, and he could only be paid essentially the higher of those 2 rates. Plus, the benefit amount would be reduced for age if he files prior to his full retirement age (FRA).

Your husband's unreduced spousal benefit rate would be calculated by subtracting his primary insurance amount (PIA) from 50% of your PIA. A person's PIA is equal to their full SSDI rate, or their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing at FRA. So, your husband will only qualify for spousal benefits if 50% of your PIA is higher than his own PIA.

Furthermore, Social Security uses a special family maximum benefit (FMB) formula to determine the amount of auxiliary benefits (e.g. spousal, child) that can be paid on a disabled worker's record, and that formula can cause the auxiliary benefits to be reduced to zero. I can't tell you whether or not that formula would limit your husband's potential spousal rate without knowing your SSDI rate. Your husband may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully explore all of his options so that he can determine the best strategy for maximizing his benefits.

Best, Jerry