<p>Has anyone heard about this? My H has never made enough to pay into Social Security. He has been self-employed since 1974 and his income has only been positive for 2-3 years.</p>
<p>He tells me he has zero benefits (or perhaps he has benefits but they are minimal). He is 61. Someone told me they’ve heard that if he was married for 10 years+ to someone who DID pay into the system (which I have done for 30+ years) he is entitled to some small amount each month. I am going to contact the Social Security Administration, but does anyone have any knowledge about this?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance. There’s got to be something good about getting older, right?</p>
<p>If he has been self-employed, and has been paying his SE taxes, then he has paid into the system. Start with that when you talk with the SS Administration. He may have been able to dodge income tax for all these years, but it is hard for me to believe that he never paid a cent of Self-Employment tax. The current income figure for escaping that tax is $400 in one year.</p>
<p>If you have paid into the SS system, and the two of you will have been married at least ten years, then he can claim benefits based on your income. Even should you get divorced after you’ve been married 10+ years he can claim based on your income.</p>
<p>You are truly an amazingly patient woman if he has been self-employed and in the negative income range for all of that time. I hope he recognizes how fortunate he is to have you!</p>
<p>I think your husband’s benefit may be a pleasant surprise - if I remember correctly, he will be entitled to an amount equal to one-half of your benefit (if you are entitlted to a monthly benefit of $2,000, then he is entitled to a monthly benefit of $1,000).</p>
<p>if/when i become a state annuitant, should my husband die, i can not receive any social security benefits from him. he has paid in the maximum amt for years and years and years…</p>
<p>It’s true. My wife has paid into the system for 40 years, but her SS benefit won’t be any greater than it would be if she had never worked a day in her life because she’s entitled to receive the same amount based on being married to me as she is based on her own income.</p>
<p>But couldn’t she start taking a benefit based on her SS contributions at age 62 and then switch over to your contributions when you start taking yours at age 66?</p>
<p>If she starts taking her own benefits at 62, when she switches to taking half of your benefits, she will get a reduced amount because she started taking any $$ at all early, before full retirement age 66. I think that you lose 8% for every year before 66 and gain 8% for every year after you take benefits. So if you take benefits at 62 you get 32% less than 66, and if you wait until 70, you get 32% more. At least that is how I understand it. You need to talk to the social security folks to figure out all the ins and outs of how to take benefits and when, and what the drawbacks and advantages are of taking them at different stages. Check with the authorities.</p>
<p>Dependent spouses get benefits based on the employed spouse’s benefit.<br>
Slightly off topic:
What many don’t know is that if you were married to someone covered by SS and were divorced you are entitled to spousal benefits if you were married for the required amount of time. Your ex doesn’t have to agree or even know, his or her benefits and/or their current spouse’s benefits aren’t changed.</p>
<p>Have not read the entire thread but wanted to mention that there are a number of circumstances that allow for children to receive SS benefits until they are 18.<br>
Nephew’s father was older and when BIL began collecting his own benefits, his 12 year old child (DN) also collected. I think the child’s benefits were half the amount of his fathers. The father had to account for the expenditure of these funds, showing the money benefited the child but they came as a check made out to the child.</p>