Medicare Blog

what about surviving spouse if only 62 but disabled can the get on medicare

by Lenore Farrell PhD Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

Of course, you may be eligible for Medicare sooner if you have End-Stage Renal Disease or disability for at least two years. If you’re 62 and your spouse or ex-spouse is 65, you CANNOT use their Medicare benefits for eligibility. You must wait until the age of 65 to qualify unless you’re eligible through disability.

Traditional Medicare includes Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance). To qualify for Medicare, your spouse must be age 65 or older. If your spouse is age 62 (or any age under 65), he or she could only qualify for Medicare by disability.

Full Answer

Can I get Social Security benefits if my spouse dies while disabled?

Spouse's Survivors Benefit If a spouse was married for at least a year to a disabled worker who died while receiving Social Security disability benefits, the surviving spouse can get benefits in either of these circumstances: The surviving spouse is 60 years old or older. The surviving spouse is disabled and between 50 and 60.

What is the survivor benefit for a disabled spouse in their 50s?

If you claim in your 50s as a disabled spouse, the survivor benefit is 71.5 percent of your late spouse's benefit. If you apply on the basis of caring for a child who is under 16 or disabled, you can collect 75 percent of the late spouse’s benefit, regardless of your age.

Can a spouse collect Social Security benefits before age 62?

Even though a spouse is allowed to collect benefits at age 62, a spouse who collects spousal benefits before full retirement age will be hit with the early retirement penalty. (This does not apply to those caring for a child under 16 who is eligible for a child's benefit who are receiving mother's or father's benefits—see below.)

Do I qualify for Medicare if my spouse is on social security?

Qualifying for Medicare is different than Social Security benefits. You can be eligible for your spouse/ex-spouse Social Security benefits at age 62, and you won’t qualify for Medicare until age 65. Of course, you may be eligible for Medicare sooner if you have End-Stage Renal Disease or disability for at least two years.

Can my wife get Medicare if I on disability?

Does Medicare cover people's spouses? Medicare offers federal health insurance coverage for those aged 65 years and over, as well as those with a permanent disability. Medicare does not cover spouses specifically. However, some spouses qualify based on the work record of their spouse or a former spouse.

Can a widow get Medicare at 62?

No. Medicare benefits do not begin until a person is age 65. If you retire at age 62, you may be able to continue to have medical insurance coverage through your employer or, if not, you can purchase coverage from a private insurance company until you turn age 65 and become eligible for Medicare.

Can a surviving spouse get Medicare?

Each may qualify for up to about 50 percent of your benefit amount. Survivors - When you die, certain members of your family may be eligible for benefits: your spouse age 60 or older (50 or older if disabled, or any age if caring for your children younger than age 16); and.

Does disability continue for surviving spouse?

Widow or widower, full retirement age or older — 100% of the deceased worker's benefit amount. Widow or widower, age 60 — full retirement age — 71½ to 99% of the deceased worker's basic amount. Widow or widower with a disability aged 50 through 59 — 71½%.

When can a widow qualify for Medicare?

Age 65 or older or.

What is the difference between survivor benefits and widow benefits?

While spousal benefits are capped at 50% of your spouse's benefit amount, survivor benefits are not. If you're widowed, you're eligible to receive the full amount of your late spouse's benefit, if you've reached full retirement age. The same is true if you are divorced and your ex-spouse has died.

Can widows get Medicare at 60?

When can I receive Medicare benefits? Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people age 65 and older. Generally, individuals are automatically eligible for Medicare if they are 65 years old and have 40 quarters of work credit in Social Security covered employment, or their spouse is eligible for Medicare.

How do you qualify for widow's benefits?

Who is eligible for this program?Be at least age 60.Be the widow or widower of a fully insured worker.Meet the marriage duration requirement.Be unmarried, unless the marriage can be disregarded.Not be entitled to an equal or higher Social Security retirement benefit based on your own work.

How much do widows get from Social Security?

Widow or widower, full retirement age or older—100% of your benefit amount. Widow or widower, age 60 to full retirement age—71½ to 99% of your basic amount. A child under age 18 (19 if still in elementary or secondary school) or has a disability—75%.

What is Social Security spousal benefit?

The spousal benefit can be as much as half of the worker's "primary insurance amount," depending on the spouse's age at retirement. If the spouse begins receiving benefits before "normal (or full) retirement age," the spouse will receive a reduced benefit.

Who is not eligible for Social Security survivor benefits?

Widowed spouses and former spouses who remarry before age 60 (50 if they are disabled) cannot collect survivor benefits. Eligibility resumes if the later marriage ends. There is no effect on eligibility if you remarry at 60 or older (50 or older if disabled).

When my husband dies do I get his Social Security and mine?

Social Security will not combine a late spouse's benefit and your own and pay you both. When you are eligible for two benefits, such as a survivor benefit and a retirement payment, Social Security doesn't add them together but rather pays you the higher of the two amounts.

Who gets lump sum when spouse dies?

Generally, the lump-sum is paid to the surviving spouse who was living in the same household as the worker when they died. If they were living apart, the surviving spouse can still receive the lump-sum if, during the month the worker died, they met one of the following:

How long do you have to wait to receive Social Security if you die?

If the eligible surviving spouse or child is not currently receiving benefits, they must apply for this payment within two years of the date of death. For more information about this lump-sum payment, contact your local Social Security office or call 1-800-772-1213 ( TTY 1-800-325-0778 ).

Who receives benefits?

Certain family members may be eligible to receive monthly benefits, including:

Are other family members eligible?

Under certain circumstances, the following family members may be eligible:

How do survivors benefit amounts work?

We base your survivors benefit amount on the earnings of the person who died. The more they paid into Social Security, the higher your benefits would be.

What percentage of a widow's benefit is a widow?

Widow or widower, full retirement age or older — 100 percent of the deceased worker's benefit amount. Widow or widower, age 60 — full retirement age — 71½ to 99 percent of the deceased worker's basic amount. A child under age 18 (19 if still in elementary or secondary school) or disabled — 75 percent.

What age can you remarry?

If you remarry after you reach age 60 (age 50 if disabled), the remarriage will not affect your eligibility for survivors benefits.

What percentage of late spouse's disability is survivor?

If you claim in your 50s as a disabled spouse, the survivor benefit is 71.5 percent of your late spouse's benefit.

What happens to Social Security when a spouse dies?

En español | When a Social Security beneficiary dies, his or her surviving spouse is eligible for survivor benefits. A surviving spouse can collect 100 percent of the late spouse’s benefit if the survivor has reached full retirement age, but the amount will be lower if the deceased spouse claimed benefits before he or she reached full retirement age. (Full retirement age for survivor benefits differs from that for retirement and spousal benefits; it is currently 66 but will gradually increasing to 67 over the next several years.)

How long do you have to be married to receive survivor benefits?

In most cases, a widow or widower qualifies for survivor benefits if he or she is at least 60 and had been married to the deceased for at least nine months at the time of death. But there are a few exceptions to those requirements: 1 If the late beneficiary’s death was accidental or occurred in the line of U.S. military duty, there’s no length-of-marriage requirement. 2 You can apply for survivor benefits as early as age 50 if you are disabled and the disability occurred within seven years of your spouse’s death. 3 If you are caring for children from the marriage who are under 16 or disabled, you can apply at any age.

What percentage of survivor benefits do you get when you retire?

If you claim survivor benefits between age 60 and your full retirement age, you will receive between 71.5 percent and 99 percent of the deceased’s benefit. The percentage gets higher the older you are when you claim.

Can a survivor get Social Security if they are still working?

If you are below full retirement age and still working, your survivor benefit could be affected by Social Security's earnings limit. It does not matter whether a surviving spouse worked long enough to qualify for Social Security on his or her own.

Do you get a survivor benefit if you are on Social Security?

You will not receive a survivor benefit in addition to your own retirement benefit; Social Security will pay the higher of the two amounts.

Can you get survivor benefits if you remarry?

If the remarriage took place before you turned 60 (50 if you are disabled), you cannot draw survivor benefits. You regain eligibility if that marriage ends. And there is no effect on eligibility for survivor benefits if you remarry at or past 60 (50 if disabled).

What percentage of my spouse's SSDI is paid in 2021?

For example, someone who turns 62 in 2021 would be eligible for 32.9 percent of a spouse’s SSDI amount. If you are divorced and drawing SSDI, your former spouse also may be able to collect benefits if the marriage lasted at least 10 years and your ex is 62 or older and has not remarried. Benefits paid to an ex-spouse do not affect ...

Can you get spousal benefits reduced?

Spousal benefits also can be reduced if you claim them before full retirement age and earn income from work that exceeds Social Security’s earnings limit.

Can disabled children get SSDI?

Minor or disabled children of an SSDI recipient also may be eligible for benefits. Payments to a disabled beneficiary’s spouse and kids are collectively subject to a cap called the family maximum and could be reduced if they exceed it.

How much does Social Security pay for a deceased spouse?

First, Social Security pays a death benefit of $255 if the surviving spouse lived with the deceased spouse. 3 This payment is made only once. More important is the monthly income. At a basic level, the monthly amount depends on the earnings of the deceased spouse over their whole life.

Who Can Get Survivor Benefits and at What Age?

After the death of a spouse, you can get a monthly Social Security survivor benefit. This is true as long as you have been married for at least nine months. 1

What happens if you collect a survivor benefit and have not reached FRA?

If you collect a survivor benefit and you have not yet reached FRA, the amount you get can go down if you are working. 7 This would happen if your income is higher than the earnings limit .

What age can you get a survivor benefit?

Survivor’s benefits include the effect of delayed retirement credits. If your spouse was already past age 66 or 67 and had not started taking Social Security, you may get a higher survivor benefit than if they had filed sooner.

What happens if you and your spouse start claiming?

If you and your spouse had both started claiming, the higher benefit amount becomes your monthly payment. The lower of the two payment amounts will be stopped.

What happens when you start claiming survivor benefits?

When you start claiming your survivor benefit, you would get what their payment would have been at that later age. This will be a larger amount than if they had started sooner.

How old do you have to be to claim spousal support?

If you are caring for the child of your deceased spouse, and the child is under the age of 16 , you can claim your spousal payment after their death even if you were married much less time. 2

How much of my deceased spouse's SSDI benefits?

You will receive 75% of your deceased spouse's SSDI benefit. You are at least 50 years old and disabled, and your disability started before your spouse died or within seven years of your spouse's death (unless you were receiving mother's or father's benefits). You will receive 71.5% of your deceased spouse's SSDI benefit.

How much of my spouse's Social Security will I get if I die?

You will receive 71.5% - 99% of your deceased spouse's SSDI benefit. You are at least full retirement age. You will receive 100% of your deceased spouse's SSDI benefit. (To determine your full retirement age, go to Social Security Benefit Amounts for the Surviving Spouse by Year of Birth .)

How much of my grandparent's SSDI benefits do I get?

Qualified grandchildren will receive 75% of their grandparent's SSDI benefit, the same as children.

What happens to a disabled person when he dies?

If a disabled individual dies, his or her spouse and dependents may get Social Security survivors benefits.

How old do you have to be to get Social Security?

As an adult child, which includes all children who are 18 years old or older, you may be eligible for Social Security survivor benefits under either of two circumstances. You are under 19 years old and a full-time student in a secondary school.

When does SSDI stop?

You will receive 75% of your deceased parent's SSDI benefit until your 18 th birthday; payments will actually stop the month before you turn 18 years old. The amount of your payment is subject to the family maximum benefit rules; see below.

When does a widow's SSDI end?

If a widow is receiving benefits based on caring for a child under 16 years old who receives SSDI benefits based on the deceased spouse's earnings record, the benefits to the widow will generally end when the child turns 16 years old. However, if the child is disabled and continues to be in the care of the widow and receive SSDI benefits on ...

How much is the 62 survivors benefit?

It includes examples of the age 62 survivors benefit based on an estimated monthly benefit of $1000 at full retirement age . If the worker started receiving retirement benefits before their full retirement age, we cannot pay the full retirement age benefit amount on their record. Generally, if the person who died was receiving reduced benefits, ...

When can a widow receive Social Security?

The earliest a widow or widower can start receiving Social Security survivors benefits based on age will remain at age 60. Widows or widowers benefits based on age can start any time between age 60 and full retirement age as a survivor. If the benefits start at an earlier age, they are reduced a fraction of a percent for each month ...

What are the pros and cons of taking survivors benefits before retirement age?

Pros And Cons. There are disadvantages and advantages to taking survivors benefits before full retirement age. The advantage is that the survivor collects benefits for a longer period of time. The disadvantage is that the survivors benefit may be reduced.

What age can you collect a $1000 survivor benefit?

Generally, if the person who died was receiving reduced benefits, we base the survivors benefit on that amount. Year of Birth 1. Full (survivors) Retirement Age 2. At age 62 a $1000 survivors benefit would be reduced to 3. Months between age 60 and full retirement age.

Can you use the retirement estimate to determine the amount of a spouse's retirement benefits?

You cannot use the Retirement Estimator to determine benefit amounts for a surviving spouse. However, if you know what the worker's yearly lifetime earnings were, you can use our Online Calculator to get a rough estimate of what the benefits would be for the surviving spouse at full retirement age.

What happens to Social Security when a spouse dies?

Social Security When A Spouse Dies: Survivor Benefits Guide. If your spouse dies and you have reached full retirement age, you’re eligible for 100% of their benefits. If your spouse dies and you have reached full retirement age, you’re eligible for 100% of their benefits. If your spouse retired before full retirement age, ...

When do surviving spouses stop receiving Survivor Benefits?

If the widow/widower receives additional benefits because he/she has a minor dependent benefits will typically cease when that child reaches age 18.

What happens if the deceased received monthly benefits?

If the deceased was already receiving Social Security benefits, the surviving spouse is eligible to collect 100% of the benefits as long as they are at least 60 and they were married to the deceased for at least nine months. There are exceptions:

What is spousal benefit based on?

SSA spousal benefits are based on the earnings of the deceased. The longer they worked and the more money they earned over their lifetime, the higher the benefits will be. Survivors benefits are based on a percentage of the deceased person’s Social Security benefit.

What is Social Security survivor benefit?

Social Security survivors benefits are based on a percentage of your spouses’ benefits. If the deceased started collecting reduced benefits before reaching full retirement age, your survivors benefits would be reduced as well. If the deceased died before he/she was eligible to collect, the benefit is based on what they would have received ...

How long do you have to be married to get disability benefits?

If the deceased died in an accident or died in the line of U.S. Military duty, there’s no length of marriage requirement. You can apply for your deceased spouse’s benefits as early as age 50 if you are disabled and the disability occurred within seven years of the spouse’s death.

What happens if my spouse dies before retirement?

If your spouse retired before full retirement age, they received a reduced retirement benefit and you will receive reduced survivors’ benefits.

What to do if you lost your spouse on Medicare?

It’s your responsibility to enroll in a new policy as soon as possible to ensure eligibility. If you recently lost a spouse and your Medicare policy, please call an agent at the number above to start discussing your options.

How old do you have to be to qualify for Medicare?

Qualifying for Medicare is different than Social Security benefits. You can be eligible for your spouse/ex-spouse Social Security benefits at age 62, and you won’t qualify for Medicare until age 65. Of course, you may be eligible for Medicare sooner if you have End-Stage Renal Disease or disability for at least two years.

Can you lose Medicare if your spouse dies?

If you lose Medicare coverage due to the death of a spouse, you become eligible for a Special Election Period; but, that period doesn’t last forever.

Is there a family plan for Medicare?

There’s no family plan for Medicare; plans are individual. Meaning, your spouse’s eligibility may not match yours.

Can a Non-Working Spouse Qualify for Medicare?

Yes, as long as the working spouse worked enough quarters and you’ve been married for at least one year.

How long do you have to collect SSDI to get Medicare?

Once you have collected SSDI payments for two years , you will become eligible for Medicare. You won’t even have to sign up—Medicare will automatically enroll you in Part A and Part B and mail your Medicare card to you shortly before your coverage begins.

How much does Medicare cost on disability?

If you qualify for SSDI, you'll typically qualify for premium-free Medicare Part A based on your work record. Part B requires a monthly premium ($144.60 in 2020), automatically deducted from your Social Security check. You can technically opt out of Part B if you don’t want to pay the premiums. Just know that without Part B, you’ll forego extensive medical coverage. It’s usually not a good idea to opt out of Part B unless you have other health insurance—like from an employer.

How long does it take to get Medicare if denied SSDI?

The result: your wait for Medicare will be shorter than two years.

What is ESRD in Medicare?

ESRD, also known as permanent kidney failure, is a disease in which the kidneys no longer work. Typically, people with ESRD need regular dialysis or a kidney transplant (or both) to survive. Because of this immediate need, Medicare waives the waiting period. 2

What to do if your income is too high for medicaid?

If your income is too high to qualify for Medicaid, try a Medicare Savings Program (MSP), which generally has higher limits for income. As a bonus, if you qualify for an MSP, you automatically qualify for Extra Help, which subsidizes your Part D costs. Contact your state’s Medicaid office for more information.

What conditions are considered to be eligible for Medicare?

Even though most people on Social Security Disability Insurance must wait for Medicare coverage to begin, two conditions might ensure immediate eligibility: end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS).

How long does a disability last?

The government has a strict definition of disability. For instance, the disability must be expected to last at least one year. Your work history will also be considered—usually, you must have worked for about 10 years but possibly less depending on your age.

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