What Social Security Benefits Are Available for the "Currently Insured"?

Question:

I read your answer on getting Medicare before you're 65 and it talked about being currently insured. If my husband is currently insured (he worked for awhile a couple of years ago), does that mean I can get Social Security benefits when he dies? He is in poor health and I don't think he's fully insured, because he can't get Social Security retirement benefits.

Answer:

There are very limited Social Security benefits for those who are currently insured or for the spouses of those who are currently insured. For most Social Security benefits, such as retirement benefits, you need to be "fully insured," which generally means you have 40 work credits, or 10 years worth of work. For disability benefits, you need to be "insured for disability benefits," which means you need at least one work credit for each year that has passed since you turned 21 (plus you need to have worked a certain amount in recent years).

To be currently insured, on the other hand, an individual needs to have earned only six credits in the three years before he or she became eligible for disability benefits or passed away. A credit is earned by making $1,160, and an individual can earn up to four credits per year. (A person can earn six credits in as little as 13 months if he or she makes a total of at least $6,960. )

However, the only time currently insured individuals can benefit from this insured status during their lifetime is if they have end-state renal disease (ESRD). In that case, they can get Medicare Part A, premium free, while being currently insured instead of fully insured.

While someone who is just currently insured is not eligible for Social Security retirement benefits or disability benefits, after the currently insured individual dies, his spouse and children may be eligible for survivors benefits. The following survivors benefits are available to the dependents of someone who was currently insured:

Child's insurance benefits, for children who are unmarried and either:

• under 18
• between 18 and 19 and in school, or
• disabled, with a disability that began before age 22.

Mother's or father's benefits, for surviving spouses who care for a child of the deceased spouse. The child being cared for must receive survivors benefits based on your spouse's record and either be:

• under 16, or
• disabled.

A surviving child or a surviving spouse who has a surviving child in his or her care will receive 75% of what the deceased individual's Social Security payment would have been, up to a family maximum. (If there is more than one child, each family member would get less than 75%.) Keep in mind that if the deceased individual wasn't fully insured, the survivors benefit payment may be quite low. Also, as an aside, you should know that a currently insured individual's spouse or children are not eligible for dependents benefits during the individual's lifetime.

For more information, see our article on currently insured status for Social Security disability.