Social Security Eligibility: Can A Full-Time Housewife Qualify For Social Security?

When Social Security was initially established, most families only had one bread-earner, and only the working spouse qualified for retirement benefits. This created financial problems for the spouse who didn't work (and so didn't qualify for Social Security) if the working spouse died first. Thankfully the Social Security Administration recognized this hardship and amended the law to allow wives to collect benefits based on their husband's earnings.

The family dynamic has changed much since Social Security was established back in 1935, but there are still many families where one spouse does not work, and hence does not qualify for retirement benefits based on their personal earnings.

There are several requirements in order to meet the criteria for Social Security retirement benefits, such as:

- Age: In order to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits, you must be at least age 62. Other benefits, such as survivor benefits or disability benefits may be received at an earlier age, but the Social Security eligibility rules require you to be age 62 before you can try for retirement benefits.

- Work Credits: You should work in a Social Security supported job (i.e., where you contribute to Social Security by means of payroll tax deductions) for at least 40 credits to qualify for retirement benefits. You can earn up to four credits per year; so in effect, you must work for 10 years to be eligible for Social Security.

- Citizenship or Residency Status: Many people will be surprised to realize that you do not need to be a U.S. citizen to avail Social Security retirement benefits. Employees who pay into the Social Security system may qualify for benefits even if they are not U.S. citizens, however they must live in the U.S. to actually get benefits.

So... do spouses qualify for Social Security? Given the Social Security eligibility rules mentioned above, most full-time housewives will not qualify for retirement benefits themselves, unless they worked for 10 years (40 credits) before they became a homemaker.

However, homemakers may qualify for benefits depending on their spouse's earnings. Social Security spousal benefits allow husbands and wives to collect retirement benefits based on their spouse's income if they result in a greater benefit than their own. To be more explicit, a spouse who has not worked or who has considerably lower earnings than their husband or wife can receive up to as much as half of their spouse's full retirement benefit.

In addition to spousal benefits, homemakers may also be eligible for Social Security survivor benefits. Widows and widowers can start collecting Social Security benefits based on their deceased spouse's earnings beginning at age 60 (age 50 if they are handicapped). Children of deceased people who are less than age 18 (19 if they are still in high school) can also qualify for survivor benefits. This is very helpful for families with young children when the main bread earner passes away at an early age.

While full-time homemakers that have never worked or who have worked for less than 10 years generally won't qualify for Social Security retirement benefits on their own, essentially, they may be eligible for benefits according to their husband's earnings. Note: while this write-up has assumed that the homemaker is woman, Social Security is gender neutral, so men who choose to stay home to raise the kids can also qualify for spousal and survivor benefits.

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