There are a lot of things that can change financially in the U.S. once you get married. Insurance will change, taxes will be different, and even things like applying for loans or making big purchases can change from a legal standpoint. What about Social Security Disability Insurance benefits? Will your SSDI benefits change if you get married?
Can Marital Status Affect SSDI Benefits?
Actually, no. Your marital status can affect many things as we mentioned in the intro, but your SSDI benefits will remain the same on either side of a marriage. The same goes for a divorce. Your base benefits are entirely unaffected by your marital status.
Instead, your SSDI benefits are based entirely on your work history. So much so in fact, that if you do not have a work history with payments into Social Security, then you cannot receive SSDI benefits. Since marital history shouldn’t factor into work history, your SSDI benefits will remain unaffected.
The only way that a marriage can impact your SSDI benefits is when that marriage directly impacts your work history. For example, someone choosing to be a stay-at-home parent for a time during the marriage will see an impact on their work history and likely have their SSDI benefits reduced if they should need them. You do need to have worked at least 5 of the last 10 years before you apply and have earned a minimum of $6,560 each of those years for them to count.
Read More: Will Social Security and SSDI Ever Run Out?
Are There Benefits That Marriage Can Affect?
Marrying or getting a divorce can affect other benefits though. These benefits include SSI, survivors, child benefits, and even VA benefits. Each of these is handled a little differently and the changes will be different, but we can walk you through an SSI example.
For 2023, the maximum SSI benefit for an individual is $914. This means two individuals could potentially receive up to $1,828. Once married, you will not just combine SSI. Instead, you will get the couple amount at $1,371. Though this is cut and dry with the numbers, it rarely works out exactly like this as SSI is a needs-based program that takes multiple other factors into account to calculate its final amount.
Let’s consider another case. If you are on SSI and considering marrying someone who is not. Once you are married, their income will be counted with yours which could jeopardize some or all of your SSI benefits. For these reasons, it is often advantageous, at least for the purposes of SSI, if you do not get married. Though, by not getting married, your spouse will lose the ability to collect survivor’s benefits
Do You Lose Survivor Benefits if You Remarry?
If you are receiving survivor’s benefits from a previous marriage, you will lose those benefits if you remarry unless you are over 60 or over 50 and disabled. If something should happen to that marriage though, you can regain eligibility for the survivor benefits again.
How Much Could SSDI Increase in 2024?
Need Legal Help Getting SSI or SSDI?
Have you been denied SSI or SSDI? Perhaps it’s time to get the legal help that you need. At Tabak Law, we have decades of experience in getting people benefits that they have been denied for. We do not get paid unless you get benefits, and even then, we only get paid out of your backpay. Getting legal help from Tabak comes with no risk to you, your financial status, or your ongoing benefits. Call Tabak for the Payback!