What age requirements apply for disabled spouse Social Security benefits?

You've got things mixed up. If she's disabled, she should apply for her OWN SSDI benefits based on her work record, not spousal benefits. Age doesn't matter for disability benefits if she qualifies.

The person who responded first isn't completely correct. Your wife may be eligible for disabled spouse benefits, but there are specific requirements. If your wife is disabled, she can receive benefits on your record as early as age 50 if her disability started before or within 7 years of when she last received spouse's benefits. However, you would need to be collecting your own retirement benefits first before she could collect on your record. Since you're not yet collecting, she wouldn't be eligible until you start receiving benefits, regardless of her disability status. There's also the Disabled Widow(er) Benefits if you were to pass away, which also allows collection as early as age 50 with disability, but that's not applicable in your current situation.

my cousin tried to do this and it was a NIGHTMARE!!! social security kept sending her back and forth between the retirement office and disability office for months!! no one knew the right answers and she got different information every time she called. she finally had to go to her congressman to get any help. good luck!

I'd like to clarify a few things here. The second response is partially correct but missing some details. There are two different concepts being mixed up: 1. Disabled Widow/Widower Benefits - These allow benefits as early as age 50 if the spouse is deceased. 2. Regular spousal benefits - These typically require the spouse to be at least 62, with some exceptions. For your situation, since your wife became disabled before age 62 and you're still living, here are the facts: - She cannot receive disabled spouse benefits while you are still living unless she's caring for your child under 16 or a disabled child - Once you file for your retirement benefits, she would have to be at least 62 to file for regular spousal benefits - There is no 'disability exception' to the age requirement for regular spousal benefits when the worker (you) is still living Her best options would be: 1. Apply for SSDI on her own record if she has enough work credits 2. Apply for SSI if your household resources are limited 3. Wait until she reaches 62 to apply for spousal benefits once you're receiving your retirement Since you mentioned she was denied SSI due to resources and doesn't qualify for her own SSDI, unfortunately, she will need to wait until age 62 to receive spousal benefits.

Hey, have you tried calling the SSA directly? I know it can be nearly impossible to get through to them, but I recently used a service called Claimyr that got me through to a real person in about 20 minutes when I was dealing with a similar situation with my disabled brother. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU I'd definitely recommend speaking directly with an SSA rep about this since your situation has some complexity with the disability aspect. They can check your wife's work record and tell you exactly what benefits she might qualify for now or in the future. The website is claimyr.com if you want to check it out. Saved me days of frustration with busy signals and hold times.

wait, can someone explain the difference between SSI and SSDI again? i get these confused all the time. and which one is the spouse thing related to?

After reading through this thread again, I realized I need to correct something in my earlier response. The provision about disabled spouses collecting as early as 50 only applies to surviving spouses (widows/widowers) whose partners have passed away. Since you're still living, your wife wouldn't qualify under that provision. As the expert correctly pointed out, for your situation, your wife would generally need to wait until age 62 to collect spousal benefits once you start receiving your retirement benefits. The only exception would be if she were caring for your child who is under 16 or disabled. I apologize for my error and the confusion it may have caused.

has she tried applying for disability again? sometimes ppl get denied first time but approved when they appeal. my sister got denied twice but then got a lawyer and won her case!!