Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
- Children's Benefits. Children who receive SSDI benefits on the record of a parent will lose these benefits if they get married.
- Widows and Widowers Benefits. Widows and widowers lose their SSDI benefits if they get remarried. ...
- Divorced Spouse's Benefit. ...
- Divorced Spouse's Survivors Benefit. ...
How will marriage affect my disability benefits?
You qualify for spousal benefits if:
- You are 62 or older (unless you are caring for a child under 16 or disabled, in which this rule does not apply).
- You’ve been married for a minimum of one year.
- Your spouse is currently collecting retirement benefits.
Can a married couple both receive Social Security disability?
Social Security disability for a spouse can also be paid if only one spouse is disabled. For example, if you receive SSDI, your spouse can receive up to 50 percent of your benefit amount in addition to what you receive. If both you and your spouse qualify for SSDI, there is no Social Security disability and marriage penalty.
What are the benefits of getting married?
Copyright 2022 KAZU. To see more, visit KAZU. When Americans with disabilities get married they risk losing federal benefits. Momentum is building on Capitol Hill to change the rules. CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a ...
Does marriage affect SSI benefits?
If your spouse currently gets SSI, any change in marital status will affect your benefits. That remains true whether you’re a widow, widower, divorced widow, or a divorced widower. In general, you cannot qualify to receive your deceased former spouse’s SSI if you remarry before you turn 60.
How does marriage affect Social Security?
How Marriage Affects Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) SSDI benefits are based on a person’s work history and current work activity. You have to have enough work credits to qualify for SSDI, and to get work credits , you have to have a solid work history during which you paid your Social Security taxes.
How does marriage affect SSI?
In order to qualify, not only must you personally meet certain financial limitations, but your household income must also meet those limitations. You must also meet the SSA’s definition of disability.
Can I get SSI if I get married?
Your SSI benefits are much more susceptible to being reduced or revoked if you get married than your SSDI benefits. Depending on the income level of your spouse, you may exceed the financial limitations for SSI.
How many credits do you need to work to become disabled?
You can earn up to four work credits per year of employment, and you typically need 40 work credits, half of which were earned in the last 10 years leading up to the year you became disabled. You must also meet the SSA’s definition of disability.
Who Is Considered a Spouse?
In the SSI program, you are considered to be married if you are legally married and are living together. In some particular situations, if you are living with your partner and not legally married, but interact with the community as husband and wife, your partner, boyfriend, or girlfriend’s income may affect you.
Can Getting Married Affect My Eligibility?
The process of determining how a spouse or partner’s income may affect your disability is a complex process and requires the help of an experienced SSI attorney. Specifically, marriage itself does not affect your eligibility for SSI benefits, rather, your spouse’s income level can possibly make you ineligible for benefits.
The Process of Deeming Spousal Income
If you are ready to apply for disability in Halifax, and your husband, wife, or partner makes an income, Social Security has a process for “deeming” some of their income to be available for your use. Especially in the case that your husband, wife, or partner makes a large income, deemable income will come into play.
Contact Us Today
For more information about applying for disability in Halifax, or for specific questions about marriage and your benefits, contact Cunningham Law Group today.
How to find out if my Social Security benefits were reduced after marriage?
If you're still not sure whether your marriage could affect your benefits, call Social Security at 800-772-1213 or visit your local Social Security office to talk to a field representative. Or, if you think your benefits were wrongfully terminated or reduced after you got married, contact a Social Security disability attorney or legal aid office near you.
Can I get SSDI if I get married?
Adult Child Benefits. If you are receiving disability benefits under your parent's work record as an adult child, getting married will usually cause your SSDI benefits to stop. But if you marry a person with disabilities who is also receiving Social Security benefits, you may not lose your benefits when you get married.
Can my spouse get SSI if I'm both receiving?
Because of SSI's strict income limits, your new spouse's income may make you ineligible for benefits, or reduce your benefits by the amount of your countable income. If you and your fiancé are both receiving SSI, you're likely to receive less money.
Does getting married lower your disability?
Answer: Whether getting married will stop or lower your disability benefits depends on whether you're collecting SSI disability benefits, Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) benefits, adult child benefits, or survivors benefits based on the record of your deceased spouse (or ex-spouse). Let's look at each situation.
Can you join a civil union if you are a domestic partner?
Domestic Partners and Members of a Civil Union. Your disability benefits won't be affected by joining a domestic partnership or civil union if your benefits are Social Security disability insurance benefits, adult child benefits, or survivors benefits.
Does getting married affect SSDI?
SSDI Benefits. If you worked long enough to be insured for Social Security disability insurance benefits under your own work record, getting married will not affect your benefit payments. SSDI does not have income or asset limits.
Does marriage affect SSI?
Marriage itself doesn't affect your eligibility for SSI benefits, but if your new husband or wife has income, Social Security will attribute some of his or her income to you (this is called deeming spousal income ).
Receiving SSDI Benefits when Married
If you receive disability benefits through your own earnings record, meaning your own history of paying taxes from wages, marriage won’t have any affect on your eligibility for benefits. No matter how much your spouse earns, your benefits won’t be affected or reduced.
Unmarried Parents During the Application Process
Even if you decide to live with a significant other in lieu of marriage, that doesn’t mean the federal government won’t consider their income when weighing the merits of your application.
Rules for Benefits from an Ex-Spouse
Disability benefits garnered on the work record of an ex-spouse can continue after the marriage, but stop once you remarry. If your spouse dies, you may continue to receive benefits provided you do not remarry before age 50 if you are disabled, and age 60 is you are not disabled.
What happens if you get married and you get SSI?
When you’re married, a portion of your spouse’s assets and income are “deemed” yours. This includes work salary, SSDI payments, and other forms of income. If the person you’re marrying makes a modest income, it’s entirely possible that when your spouse’s income is added to yours, this may put you over the SSI eligibility limit. In turn, getting married may reduce the amount of your SSI benefit or possibly cause the payments to stop completely.
How is Social Security Disability determined?
Social Security Disability and Spousal Benefits. If you decide to receive spousal benefits, the amount you get will be determined by factors including your spouse’s full benefit, your work history and when you begin payments. You qualify for spousal benefits if:
How old do you have to be to qualify for spousal benefits?
You qualify for spousal benefits if: You are 62 or older (unless you are caring for a child under 16 or disabled, in which this rule does not apply). You’ve been married for a minimum of one year. Your spouse is currently collecting retirement benefits.
What is the SSI rate for 2020?
This is because the full SSI payment in 2020 for an individual is $783. The rate for a couple receiving SSI is $1,175, which is less than double the individual payment.
How long do you have to be married to receive Social Security?
To receive for survivor benefits, you must: Have been married to the deceased for a minimum of nine months (unless the death was accidental or occurred in the line of duty, in which case there is no minimum time).
Can I lose my SSI if I get married?
However, your SSDI benefits will not likely be affected. However, what might change is your dual eligibility status for Medicaid and Medicare.
Does getting married lower your disability?
Whether getting married will stop or lower your disability benefits depends on whether you’re collecting SSI disability benefits, Social Security disability insurance benefits, adult child benefits, or survivors’ benefits based on the record of your deceased spouse or ex-spouse. Let’s look at each situation.
What is dual eligibility for Medicare?
People with dual eligibility usually qualify for help paying Medicare premiums and deductibles through Medicare's Savings Programs, which are ad ministered by state Medicaid agencies. This is sometimes called getting "Medi-Medi" (short for Medicare and Medicaid).
How do I get SSDI?
SSDI benefits are earned by paying into the Social Security system via payroll deductions. In order to be eligible for SSDI benefits, you must have accrued enough "work credits" to be covered. If you receive benefits based on someone else's work record, you may lose your benefits by getting married, depending on your relationship to ...
What age do you lose your Social Security benefits if you are married?
If you are receiving benefits as the widow of a Social Security disability recipient, you will lose your benefit by getting married if you get married before age 60 (or age 50 if you are disabled). Ex-spouse's work record.
How much is Social Security in 2021?
This is because the full SSI payment for an individual is $794 (in 2021), while the rate for a couple who are both receiving SSI is $1,191 (which is less than double the individual payment.) If you'd like help with calculating your potential loss of benefits, contact a representative at your local Social Security field office.
Can I get married and lose my SSI?
If you receive benefits from both programs, getting married, as discussed above, could cause you to lose SSI benefits, but your SSDI benefits would not likely be affected. What might change is your dual eligibility status for Medicare and Medicaid.
When do you lose your surviving spouse's benefits?
If you are receiving surviving divorced spouse benefits, you'll lose these benefits if you get remarried before age 60. If you are a divorced spouse receiving benefits due to a disability on your deceased ex-spouse's work record, you'll lose these benefits if you get remarried before age 50. Parent's work record.
Can I get married to a disabled adult child?
In some circumstances, however, a disabled adult child may be able to marry another disabled adult child without either person losing benefits.
Is a spouse living with you on SSI?
The spouse you were living with at the beginning of a month is your spouse for SSI purposes, regardless of changes later in the month. For example, a “holding-out” spouse with whom you are living takes precedence over a legally married spouse from whom you are separated. Last Revised: Aug. 25, 2016.
Is there an eligible couple?
There is an eligible couple (rather than two eligible individuals); The rules for deeming income and resources apply if a spouse is not eligible (see � 2167 ); or. An individual under age 22 is a child who qualifies for special income exclusions.
What happens if a disabled spouse is not a countable income?
If the nondisabled spouse makes a good or even fair income, the disabled spouse will likely lose his or her SSI benefits. If the nondisabled spouse earns more than $367 per month in countable income (in 2015), the nondisabled spouse's income will be deemed. The SSA has a very complicated formula for deeming spousal income.
What is deemed income for disabled spouse?
When a disabled person gets married (and lives with his or her new spouse), the problem is that the SSA will count some of the new husband or wife's income as available to the disabled spouse. This is called "deeming income," and the nondisabled spouse's income that counts as available to the disabled spouse is called "deemed income.". ...
How long can an ex spouse receive disability?
(The ex-spouse of a deceased disabled worker who is 60 years old or older, or at least 50 years old and disabled, can receive benefits until death unless he or she remarries.) If the surviving divorced spouse remarries after age 60 (or after age 50 if disabled), the SSA will ignore the marriage.
What is a SSD?
Some types of Social Security Disability (SSD) are for unmarried family members of the disabled person (so marriage will render the person ineligible for benefits), while other types are for married or unmarried people, but have income limits.
What happens when both spouses are disabled?
When both spouses are disabled, they must both meet the financial eligibility requirements for a couple. Their income is counted together, without using the deeming formula. If they make under the required amount, they would get the couples rate for SSI ($1,100 in 2015).
When does the SSA ignore divorce?
If the surviving divorced spouse remarries after age 60 (or after age 50 if disabled), the SSA will ignore the marriage. For more information on SSDI benefits for ex-spouses, see our article on getting disability as the divorced spouse of a disabled person.
How old do you have to be to get disability?
Here are the specifics: The unmarried child or stepchild of a disabled worker can receive benefits until age 18, or age 19 if a full-time high-school student, or until getting married, whichever occurs earlier. The unmarried disabled adult child of a disabled worker can receive benefits (assuming his or her disability occurred before age 22) ...
