Homemakers and Social Security Benefits
Social Security provides benefits to homemakers in several formats. The homemaker may be a spouse or ex-spouse of a retired worker, spouse of a disabled worker, a survivor of a deceased worker or may need Supplemental Security Insurance or SSI for basic needs. The homemaker may be male or female, since Social Security is gender-neutral. The homemaker may also qualify for Social Security benefits while caring for a minor child of a worker.
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Spouse or Ex-Spouse of a Retired Worker
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A homemaker may retire and receive retirement benefits from the Social Security system once the spouse files for retirement. She must be at least age 62 to collect early benefits, but many homemakers wait until full retirement age. Spousal benefits are 50 percent of the worker's benefits at full retirement age. Full retirement age for workers born between 1943 and 1954 is 66. Spouses who claim benefits at age 62 get about 15 percent less than those who wait to age 66, or 35 percent of the worker's benefit. Since Social Security bases calculations on 100 percent, this is actually 30 percent less than full retirement benefits for the worker. An ex-spouse must have been married 10 years to the spouse and divorced two years and does not have to wait for the spouse to file for benefits.
Spouse of a Disabled Worker
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Disability benefits require that the worker qualify. Once the worker qualifies for disability benefits, a spouse caring for the worker's child may also qualify. A spouse of retirement age may qualify for benefits, but these benefits are, at best, 50 percent of the disabled spouse's entitlement. The average disability benefit for a spouse in 2010 was $286.80, according to the Social Security Administration.
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Survivor of a Deceased Worker
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Widows and widowers may receive a Social Security annuity each month based on the work history of the deceased worker. The annuity is available as early as age 60, but comes with a penalty. A survivor can collect at age 60 if he has not remarried, and may receive 70.5 percent of the worker's entitlement at full retirement age. A survivor who waits until full retirement age can collect 100 percent of the worker's benefits. Between the age of 60 and full retirement age, which is usually age 66, the 70.5 percent slides slowly to 100 percent. The longer the survivor waits to collect benefits, the higher the monthly annuity will be.
Supplemental Security Insurance
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Some homemakers work a lifetime at home with little to show for it and not enough Social Security to live on. Social Security determines SSI awards on income and resources. A homemaker who has little income and few resources beyond the house, lot and a car may qualify for SSI. SSI helps homemakers who are disabled, blind or over 65. SSI benefits on the federal level totaled $674 a month in 2010. Some states contribute to this social program to increase the benefits. Many who get SSI can also qualify for Medicare, Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, formerly food stamps.
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