Social Security Disability Benefits for Widows and Widowers in Wisconsin
Financial Relief for Grieving Husbands and Wives
Our hearts are really with you when you’re going through one of the hardest times in life, the loss of a spouse.
Not only are you grieving, but you may be facing frightening financial unknowns.
A source of support that could help you get your bearings again is Social Security Disability—if your deceased husband or wife qualified for benefits and you meet certain requirements, or if you, too, have a qualifying disability.
When a spouse had enough credits in the Social Security system to receive benefits, some benefits can transfer to a surviving partner.
For caring and compassionate help with this process, talk to the Wisconsin disability lawyers at Becker Law Office and Hawks Quindel.
We’ve helped thousands of people in Wisconsin when they faced health issues and economic insecurity, and we may be able to help you gain access to financial assistance to rebuild your life.
Who Qualifies for Widow Benefits Under Social Security Disability?
As a widow or widower, you can collect portions of your late spouse’s disability benefits depending on factors such as whether you’re caring for a child, your age, and your own health impairments:
- If you’re in your 50s and you have a disability that qualifies for benefits, you could receive 71.5% of your spouse’s old benefits.
- If you’re any age caring for the deceased person’s child who’s under 16 or qualifies for childhood disability benefits, you could receive 75%, even if you don’t have a disability yourself.
- If you’re between age 60 and full retirement, regardless of disability, you could receive 71.5% to 99% of your partner’s benefits.
- At full retirement age, you can collect 100% of your spouse’s benefits.
Divorced spouses can also sometimes collect benefits based on their ex-husbands’ or wives’ Social Security records. The marriage must have lasted at least 10 years, and whether you’re eligible depends partly on if you’re remarried and your age when you got remarried.
Some children of the person who died can receive benefits, as can parents of the deceased person if they’re at least 62 and were dependents of their adult child.
When multiple family members receive benefits, Social Security will cap the amount the whole family can receive, reducing each person’s amount until the total is between 150% and 180% of the late family member’s benefits.
Another note: These survivor benefits don’t just apply to family members of workers who were eligible for disability benefits. They apply to loved ones of people who received retirement benefits, too, or current workers who had enough credits in the Social Security system.
At Becker Law Office and Hawks Quindel, we focus on helping Wisconsinites prove their impairments for disability benefits. If you’re a widowed spouse who can claim a disability, in the next section we’ll talk more about what you need to do.
No matter your situation, you can call our Wisconsin disability attorney team to examine, for free, if you should pursue a Social Security claim.
Benefits for Widows or Widowers with Disabilities
As you saw, widows or widowers between the ages of 50 and 59 can collect 71.5% of their deceased spouses’ Social Security Disability benefits—if they also have eligible health limitations.
To do this, you have to show Social Security that you qualify for disability benefits the same way any disability applicant does:
- You must have severe health problems.
- Your health problems must make it impossible for you to work any significant amount.
- Your health issues and inability to work are sure to last, or already have lasted, at least a year.
To prove these points, you’ll need reports from your doctors, records from medical tests and treatments, details of your work background and more.
And to qualify as the spouse of a deceased person who was eligible for Social Security, you’ll need documents like marriage certificates, death certificates, tax forms and more.
You may also need to weigh whether you could receive greater benefits by applying under your own work record instead of that of your departed spouse.
An experienced, local disability attorney can guide you with understanding and attention to your needs. There’s no attorney fee until you win benefits.
Let us help you get the economic assistance you need to start moving forward.