When Social Security was first established, most families only had one bread-earner, and only the working spouse was eligible for retirement benefits. This created financial difficulties for the spouse who didn't work (and therefore didn't qualify for Social Security) if the working spouse passed away first. Thankfully the Social Security Administration realized this hardship and amended the law to permit wives to collect benefits based on their husband's earnings.

The family dynamic has changed a lot since Social Security was established back in 1935, but there are still a lot of families where one spouse does not work, and hence does not qualify for retirement benefits based on their own earnings.

There are several requirements in order to be eligible for Social Security retirement benefits, including:

- Age: In order to be eligible for Social Security retirement benefits, you need to be at least age 62. Other benefits, such as survivor benefits or disability benefits may be collected at an earlier age, but the Social Security eligibility rules expect you to be age 62 before you can try for retirement benefits.

- Work Credits: You must work in a Social Security covered job (i.e., where you contribute to Social Security through payroll tax deductions) for not less than 40 credits to be eligible for retirement benefits. You can earn up to four credits per year; so essentially, you must work for 10 years to be eligible for Social Security.

- Citizenship or Residency Status: You will be surprised to realize that you do not have to be a U.S. citizen to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits. Workers who pay into the Social Security scheme may qualify for benefits even if they are not U.S. nationals, however they must live in the U.S. to actually collect benefits.

So... do spouses qualify for Social Security? Considering Social Security eligibility rules listed above, most full-time homemakers will not qualify for retirement benefits on their own, unless they were working for 10 years (40 credits) before they became a homemaker.

Alternatively, homemakers may qualify for benefits based on their spouse's earnings. Social Security spousal benefits allow husbands and wives to get retirement benefits based on their spouse's income if they result in a higher benefit than their own. To be more specific, a spouse who has not worked or who has significantly lower earnings than their husband or wife can collect up to as much as half of their spouse's entire retirement benefit.

In addition to spousal benefits, homemakers may also qualify for Social Security survivor benefits. Widows and widowers can start collecting Social Security benefits based on their late spouse's earnings beginning at age 60 (age 50 if they are handicapped). Children of deceased workers who are under age 18 (19 if they are still in high school) may also qualify for survivor benefits. This is very useful for families with small kids when the main bread earner passes away at an early age.

While full-time homemakers who have never worked or who have worked for less than 10 years normally won't qualify for Social Security retirement benefits on their own, essentially, they may be eligible for benefits based on their husband's earnings. Note: while this article has assumed that the homemaker is female, Social Security is gender neutral, so gents who choose to stay home to bring up the kids can also qualify for spousal and survivor benefits.

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