Can I receive spousal benefits on my husband's Social Security while already collecting SSDI?

Yes, you can potentially receive both your SSDI and a spousal benefit, but there are some important things to understand. When you're eligible for both your own benefit and a spousal benefit, SSA pays your own benefit first. If your spousal benefit would be higher than your own benefit, you'll get a combination of benefits equaling the higher amount. The maximum spousal benefit is 50% of your husband's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) - that's what he would receive at his Full Retirement Age, not what he's actually getting if he filed early. Since you're under your Full Retirement Age (which would be 67 for you), any spousal benefits would be reduced. Based on your numbers, if your SSDI is $1,450 and your husband's PIA is around $2,500-2,600 (estimating based on his early retirement amount), the spousal benefit would be about $1,250-1,300 (50%). Since that's less than your SSDI, you likely wouldn't receive additional spousal benefits.

my neighbor tried this last yr and SSA told her she couldn't get any extra $ because her own disabilty check was more than half her husbands... worth calling to check ur specific situation tho

I'm going thru something similar with my wife. The way it works (if I understand the rep correctly) is that if 50% of your husband's FRA amount is MORE than your SSDI, then you get your SSDI plus the difference. But if your SSDI is already higher than 50% of his FRA amount, then you don't get any extra. Example: If his PIA/FRA amount is $3000, then 50% would be $1500. If that's more than your $1450 SSDI, you'd get an extra $50. But if 50% of his is less than your SSDI, you get nothing extra. Also remember - if you call SSA directly, be prepared to wait FOREVER on hold. I wasted 3 days trying to get someone on the phone!!

i was in a almost identical situatuon last year!!! turned out i couldnt get anything extra bc my disabilty was already more than half my husbands benefit. such a bummer.

Everyone here is basically correct. The technical term for what you're asking about is called "dual entitlement." When you're entitled to both your own benefit and a spousal benefit, you receive the higher of the two, not both combined. At your current age (59), any spousal benefits would be reduced for taking them before your Full Retirement Age. The reduction is approximately 25/36 of 1% for each month before your FRA, up to 36 months, and then 5/12 of 1% beyond that. One important consideration: When you reach your Full Retirement Age, you should check with SSA again. At that point, the spousal benefit calculation changes slightly, and depending on your husband's PIA, you might qualify for some additional amount as a spouse. Also, should something happen to your husband in the future, survivor benefits work differently than spousal benefits and you could potentially receive up to 100% of what he was receiving (or what he would have received at his FRA if he took benefits early).

SSA IS THE WORST!!! My wife and I went through this exact same thing. Called 14 TIMES over 3 MONTHS to get a straight answer. Different answer every time!! In the end she got ZERO extra money even though we've both worked and paid into the system for 45+ years!! Total scam if you ask me. The government just wants to keep OUR MONEY that we PAID IN!

Just to add a bit more clarification - everyone's situation is unique when it comes to Social Security benefits. Even with the information you've provided, there could be nuances to your specific case. For the most accurate information, you should contact SSA directly. Ask them to calculate whether you're eligible for any additional spousal benefits based on your husband's record. Be sure to ask about how things might change when you reach your Full Retirement Age as well. You can either schedule an appointment at your local office, call the national number (though wait times can be very long), or in some cases, you can use the online my Social Security account to get information about potential benefits.

One thing nobody mentioned yet - if you do call SSA, make sure you have all your paperwork ready. They'll want your SS numbers, maybe birth certificates, marriage certificate, benefit verification letters, the works. I spent 90 minutes on hold only to be told I needed more documentation and had to call back! Complete nightmare.

I went through this exact same situation about 6 months ago! I'm 61 and on SSDI ($1,380/month) and my husband is 66 getting his full retirement benefits ($2,450/month). I was really hoping to get some extra money too, but it turned out that since my SSDI was already higher than 50% of his benefit amount, I didn't qualify for any additional spousal benefits. The way the SSA rep explained it to me was that they look at what's called his "Primary Insurance Amount" (what he would get at full retirement age) and then calculate 50% of that. In my case, 50% of his PIA was about $1,225, which was less than my $1,380 SSDI, so no extra money for me. One tip though - I found it helpful to create a my Social Security account online first before calling. You can see a lot of your benefit information there and it might give you some insight into your situation before you deal with those awful phone wait times. Good luck!

I'm in a very similar situation and have been researching this extensively. From what I've learned, the key factor is comparing your SSDI amount to 50% of your husband's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). Since your husband took early retirement, his actual monthly benefit ($2,200) is reduced from what his PIA would be at full retirement age. If I had to estimate based on the early retirement reduction, his PIA is probably around $2,500-2,600. Half of that would be $1,250-1,300, which is less than your $1,450 SSDI. This means you likely won't receive any additional spousal benefits. However, I'd still recommend calling SSA to get the official calculation. Sometimes there are small details that can make a difference. Also, keep in mind that when you reach your Full Retirement Age (67), you should check again - the rules can be slightly different at that point. One more thing - if you do decide to contact SSA, try calling right when they open (8 AM) or later in the afternoon. Mid-morning and early afternoon seem to have the longest wait times in my experience.

I'm dealing with something similar right now! I'm 57 on SSDI ($1,320/month) and my husband just turned 65 and is thinking about filing for his benefits soon. From everything I've read here and researched myself, it seems like most of us in this situation don't end up getting any extra spousal benefits because our SSDI amounts are already higher than 50% of our spouse's benefits. What I found really helpful was using the Social Security website's benefit estimator to get a rough idea of what my husband's PIA might be before he files. That way I could do the math myself (50% of his estimated PIA vs. my current SSDI) to see if it was even worth pursuing. Also, I've heard from other people that even if you don't qualify for spousal benefits now, it's worth keeping track of this stuff because the calculations can change when you hit full retirement age or if your circumstances change. Plus, as someone mentioned, survivor benefits work completely differently if something happens to your spouse down the road. Hope this helps and good luck with getting through to SSA when you call!