Understanding When Wife’s and Husband’s Social Security Benefits Begin and End, § 404.332

The Social Security Administration provides benefits to spouses and divorced spouses of insured individuals under certain circumstances.

Understanding when these wife’s and husband’s benefits begin and end is essential for navigating the benefits system. This blog post will provide an overview of the rules governing the start and end of these benefits as outlined in § 404.332.

When Benefits Begin:

Wife’s or husband’s benefits begin with the first month covered by your application in which you meet all other requirements for entitlement under § 404.330 or § 404.331. However, if you are entitled as a divorced spouse before the insured person becomes entitled, your benefits cannot begin before January 1985, based on an application filed no earlier than that month.

When Benefits End:

Your entitlement to benefits ends with the month before the month in which one of the following events first occurs:

1. You become entitled to an old-age or disability benefit based on a primary insurance amount that is equal to or larger than the full wife’s or husband’s benefit.
2. You are the wife or husband and are divorced from the insured person, unless you meet the requirements for benefits as a divorced wife or divorced husband as described in § 404.331.
3. You are the divorced wife or divorced husband and you marry someone other than the insured who is entitled to old-age benefits, unless that other person is someone entitled to benefits as a wife, husband, widow, widower, father, mother, parent, or disabled child. Your benefits will end if you remarry the insured who is not yet entitled to old-age benefits.
4. If you are under age 62, there is no longer a child of the insured who is under age 16 or disabled and entitled to child’s benefits on the insured’s earnings record.
5. The insured person dies or is no longer entitled to old-age or disability benefits, with some exceptions.
6. If your benefits are based upon a deemed valid marriage and you have not divorced the insured, you marry someone other than the insured.
7. You die.
8. You became entitled as the divorced wife or the divorced husband before the insured person became entitled, but he or she is no longer insured.

Special Rule for Benefits in August 1981:

If you were entitled to wife’s or husband’s benefits for August 1981 on the basis of having a child in care, your entitlement will continue until September 1983, until the child reaches 18 (unless disabled) or is otherwise no longer entitled to child’s benefits, or until one of the events described above occurs, whichever is earliest.

To better illustrate the rules governing the start and end of wife’s and husband’s benefits under Social Security, let’s take a look at a hypothetical example featuring a couple, John and Jane, and their circumstances.

Example: John, who is 65 years old, has been working for the past 35 years and is now entitled to Social Security old-age benefits. His wife, Jane, is 60 years old and has been taking care of their disabled child, Sarah, who is 25 years old and entitled to child’s benefits on John’s earnings record.

When Benefits Begin:

Jane can apply for wife’s benefits based on John’s Social Security record since she meets the requirements under § 404.330. Her benefits will begin with the first month covered by her application in which she meets all other requirements for entitlement.

When Benefits End:

In this example, Jane’s wife’s benefits would end in the following scenarios:

1. Jane becomes entitled to her own old-age or disability benefit based on a primary insurance amount that is equal to or larger than the full wife’s benefit.
2. John and Jane get divorced, and Jane does not meet the requirements for benefits as a divorced wife as described in § 404.331.
3. Jane, as a divorced wife, remarries someone other than John who is entitled to old-age benefits, and that person is not entitled to benefits as a wife, husband, widow, widower, father, mother, parent, or disabled child.
4. Sarah, the disabled child, is no longer entitled to child’s benefits on John’s earnings record, and Jane is still under age 62.
5. John dies or is no longer entitled to old-age or disability benefits, with some exceptions.
6. Jane marries someone other than John if her benefits are based upon a deemed valid marriage and she has not divorced John.
7. Jane dies.

Conclusion: Navigating Social Security benefits can be complex, but understanding when wife’s and husband’s benefits begin and end is a crucial aspect of managing your entitlements. Be sure to consult the Social Security Administration’s guidelines or seek professional assistance if you have any questions or concerns.

https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/cfr20/404/404-0332.htm