Can I switch to my husband's Social Security at 65 while already on SSDI?
Hi everyone, I just turned 65 last month and I've been receiving SSDI for about 5 years now after my back injury made it impossible to keep working at the hospital. My husband is 70 and still working part-time at his accounting job even though he's already started collecting his Social Security retirement. His monthly SS check is really good - around $3,200 - while mine is only about $1,740. I'm wondering if now that I'm 65, can I switch over to get benefits based on his record instead? Would I get more money that way? I tried calling SSA but got disconnected twice after waiting forever. Has anyone done this before? Thanks for any advice!
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Harold Oh
Yes, you might be eligible for spousal benefits now, but it depends on several factors. At 65, you're eligible to apply for spousal benefits, which could be up to 50% of your husband's full retirement age benefit amount (not necessarily what he's currently receiving). However, since you're already receiving SSDI, the SSA will pay your own benefit first, and if the spousal benefit would be higher, they'll add the difference. So you wouldn't get both - just the higher of the two amounts. You should definitely contact SSA to see if this would increase your monthly payment.
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Payton Black
•Thank you! That makes sense. So I might not get a full 50% of his $3,200, but maybe some additional amount on top of my SSDI? I'll definitely check. Any idea how much of a difference it might make?
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Amun-Ra Azra
my neighbors wife did somethin like this last yr. she got maybe a extra $400 i think. not sure bout the detales tho
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Payton Black
•Thanks! Even a few hundred extra dollars monthly would be really helpful.
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Summer Green
This is a common question and there's some confusion about how it works. When you reach full retirement age (66 and 2 months for someone born when you were), your SSDI automatically converts to regular Social Security retirement benefits - same amount, just different internal classification. As for spousal benefits - you don't actually "switch over" completely. The maximum spousal benefit is 50% of your husband's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) - which is his benefit amount at his full retirement age, before any increases for delayed retirement. The important thing to understand is you'll only receive the HIGHER of either your own benefit or the spousal benefit, not both combined. If your current SSDI of $1,740 is higher than what you'd get as a spouse (which would be at most 50% of your husband's PIA, likely around $1,500-1,700), then there's no advantage to applying for spousal benefits.
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Payton Black
•Oh! I didn't realize it would be based on his benefit at full retirement age, not what he gets now with delayed credits. That's disappointing.
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Gael Robinson
The SSA is USELESS for explaining this stuff!!! When I turned 65 last year I was on SSDI too and wanted to see if I could get more from my husband's record. I called SIX TIMES and either got disconnected or told different things each time!!! One rep said I could get both benefits (WRONG) and another said I couldn't file until I was at full retirement age (ALSO WRONG). I finally got someone who knew what they were talking about. Turns out in my case it wasn't worth it, I only would have gotten about $120 more, but you should definitely check for yourself.
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Edward McBride
•I had the same awful experience trying to reach SSA about a similar issue with my wife's benefits. After getting disconnected four times, I tried using Claimyr.com and got through to a real person at Social Security in 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. It saved me hours of frustration, and the agent I spoke with was actually knowledgeable and explained everything clearly. For complicated benefit questions like spousal benefits calculations, talking to an actual person makes all the difference.
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Darcy Moore
Hope u can get some extra $$! My aunt tried this and got a little bump in her check. Good luck!
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Payton Black
•Thanks! Every little bit helps these days.
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Dana Doyle
I'm in a similar situation but I'm 66. My husband is 72 and gets $3,480/month while I'm getting SSDI of $1,550. I applied for the spousal benefit last month and just got approved for an additional $190/month on top of my SSDI. It's not huge but definitely worth applying for! You'll need your marriage certificate when you apply.
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Payton Black
•That's great to know! Thank you for sharing your experience. I'll dig out our marriage certificate - we've been married 42 years so I'll have to find where I put it!
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Edward McBride
There's a calculation the SSA uses for this called the "dual entitlement rule." Essentially, they'll pay your own benefit first, then add any additional amount if the spousal benefit would be higher. The spousal benefit at your full retirement age would be 50% of your husband's primary insurance amount (PIA). However, since you're 65 and haven't reached your full retirement age yet (which would be 66 and some months based on your age), your spousal benefit would be reduced by a percentage. The exact amount depends on several factors including: 1. Your husband's PIA (not his current benefit which includes delayed retirement credits) 2. Your current SSDI amount 3. Your exact age when applying for spousal benefits I recommend scheduling an appointment with SSA to get a precise calculation. They can tell you exactly how much more, if anything, you would receive.
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Payton Black
•Thank you for explaining this so clearly! I didn't realize it would be reduced since I'm not at my full retirement age yet. I'll try to schedule an appointment to get the exact numbers.
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Amun-Ra Azra
wait i thought ssdi just turns into regular ss when u hit retirement age? does that mean u have to file again?
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Harold Oh
•You're right that SSDI automatically converts to retirement benefits when you reach full retirement age. You don't need to file again for that conversion. However, applying for spousal benefits is a separate application, which is what OP is asking about. That requires contacting SSA specifically to apply for those benefits, as they're not automatic.
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Gael Robinson
MAKE SURE you understand whether you'll lose Medicare coverage!!! When I looked into switching to spousal benefits they didn't explain this to me and it gets VERY confusing with Medicare eligibility when you've been on SSDI and then switch benefit types!!!
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Summer Green
•This is a good point about Medicare, but I want to clarify to avoid confusion. You won't lose Medicare eligibility by applying for spousal benefits. Since you've been on SSDI for more than 24 months, you already have Medicare, and that eligibility continues even if you receive spousal benefits. At 65, you would have qualified for Medicare based on age anyway. So Medicare coverage shouldn't be affected by this decision.
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Payton Black
Thank you all for your helpful responses! I didn't realize this was so complicated. I'm going to try to reach the SSA to get the exact calculation based on our specific situation. It sounds like I might get a small increase but probably not as much as I was hoping for. I'll update when I find out more information!
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Dana Doyle
•Good luck! And don't get discouraged if the first person you talk to seems confused. Sometimes you have to call multiple times to get someone who really understands these complicated rules. That's what happened to me.
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