Minimum Social Security Benefits for a Homemaker
Lawmakers and pundits often refer to Social Security as one of the United States' entitlement programs, but that doesn't mean that every citizen who reaches retirement age is entitled to a retirement pension. The Social Security Administration bases its retirement pension amounts on a worker's lifetime contributions to Social Security funds. In a situation where a person didn't earn wages, such as in the case of a lifelong homemaker, he may not qualify for retirement benefits.
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Calculating Retirement Benefits
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Payroll taxes fund the Social Security system, and the administration uses a worker's wage history and payroll-tax contributions as the basis for her retirement pension. The administration adjusts each year of a retiree's earnings to modern-day dollars, then totals the adjusted wages for the 35 years with the highest earnings. The administration divides that 35-year total by 420 to calculate average monthly earnings. The administration then pays 90 percent of all monthly earnings below $749; 32 percent of earnings between $750 and $4,517; and 15 percent of all additional earnings as a retirement benefit. A homemaker who earned no wages from employment doesn't have a basis for retirement pensions, and thus can't qualify for her own retirement pension.
Spouse Benefits
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Most homemakers were married while tending to their home, with a spouse in the workforce supporting them. In this case, the homemaker may receive retirement earnings based on the working spouse's retirement pension. A spouse may receive 50 percent of her husband's full retirement benefit if she retires at full retirement age, which varies by birth year, but is 67 for all retirees born after 1960. Ex-spouses who were married to a pensioner for at least 10 years also qualify for spousal benefits. There is no minimum amount to qualify for benefits, but the Social Security Administration won't issue checks for less than $1.
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Survivor Benefits
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When a Social Security beneficiary dies, his spouse may choose to assume receiving his retirement benefit rather than her own. Homemakers who take spousal benefits automatically qualify for survivor benefits, which are 100 percent of the deceased spouse's benefits. As with all retirement benefits, a homemaker must wait until full retirement age to begin receiving benefits in order to receive the full amount. A surviving spouse stops receiving spousal benefits when she assumes survivor benefits.
Homemakers With Traditional Work Experience
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Many homemakers contributed to the Social Security system through payroll taxes at jobs where they worked before they married and took over minding the household full time. These homemakers qualify for a Social Security retirement pension based upon their prehomemaker earnings when they reach retirement age. However, because of the time they spent outside the traditional workforce, this retirement pension may be very small. Spouses may take the larger of their own retirement pension or their spouse's benefit.
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