Can I get spousal benefits while on SSDI if my husband is still working?

Sorry but you CANNOT get spousal benefits while your husband is still working and hasnt filed for his retirement yet!!! Your neighbor is flat out WRONG. I went through this exact same situation with my wife who's on SSDI. The SSA worker literally laughed when I asked about it. You have to wait until your husband actually files for his own benefits before you can get any spousal benefits. Period.

The previous response isn't completely accurate. Here's the actual rule: While it's true that your husband must file for his own retirement benefits before you can receive spousal benefits, there is one exception that might apply to your situation. If you're caring for his child who is under 16 or disabled, you could potentially receive spousal benefits even if he hasn't filed for retirement. This is called the "child-in-care" exception. However, based on your ages mentioned, this probably doesn't apply to your situation. So in your specific case, you would need to wait until your husband files for his retirement benefits before you can receive any spousal top-up. When he does file, you would be eligible for up to 50% of his Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), reduced by your own benefit. So if your husband's PIA is $3,000, you could receive up to $1,500, but since you already receive $1,240, your "top-up" would be only $260/month ($1,500 - $1,240).

my sister said the same thing to me last yr but when i went to SS office they told me no way until my husband files...im on SSDI to

One thing to consider - if your husband is the higher earner and plans to wait until 67 to collect his retirement benefits, that might actually be the optimal strategy for maximizing your household's total lifetime benefits. When he files, you'll get that spousal top-up we discussed, and when he passes away (hopefully many years in the future), you would be eligible for survivor benefits based on 100% of his benefit amount (which would replace your SSDI completely). Since he's 59 now, you might still have 8 years to wait before he files at 67. Have you looked into any other assistance programs that might help in the meantime? Depending on your household income and assets, you might qualify for additional help.

Just wanted to add - make sure when your husband DOES file that you actually apply for the spousal benefits! They won't automatically increase your payment. My mom missed out on almost a year of increased payments because she thought it would happen automatically when my dad filed for his retirement.

I spent WEEKS trying to reach someone at Social Security about this exact question last year! Kept getting busy signals or disconnected after waiting on hold forever. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an SSA agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent confirmed what others here are saying - no spousal benefits until your husband files for his own retirement. But at least I got a definitive answer from an actual SSA employee rather than relying on secondhand information.

Just wanted to add something that might explain why your neighbor is confused - before 2016, there used to be a strategy called "file and suspend" where your husband COULD file for benefits (making you eligible for spousal) and then immediately suspend his own payments to let them grow. But this loophole was closed by Congress in 2016 with the Bipartisan Budget Act. So if your neighbor knew someone who did this years ago, that might explain her confusion.

Sorry but what is a PIA? Seeing that term in one of the comments and not sure what it means.

Thank you everyone for all the helpful responses! I've learned so much from this thread. To summarize what I understand now: 1. I cannot receive spousal benefits until my husband actually files for his own retirement benefits (the "file and suspend" strategy is no longer available) 2. When he does file (likely at age 67), I'll need to apply for the spousal top-up - it won't happen automatically 3. The maximum spousal benefit would be 50% of his PIA, minus my own SSDI amount 4. His strategy to wait until 67 is probably best for maximizing our lifetime benefits, especially considering potential survivor benefits I really appreciate everyone taking the time to explain this to me!