Ask the Experts:
Social Security Benefits for a Noncitizen Spouse

Q. I have been married to a U.S. citizen for 37 years. I am a British citizen with a green card and a U.S. Social Security card but I’m not working. My wife is employed and plans to retire in six years, when she will be eligible for full Social Security benefits. What benefits I will be entitled to as her spouse, and what if she dies first?

A. When you wife retires and files for benefits, you will be eligible for spousal benefits based on her work record.

 If your wife dies before you, and at the time of her death she had the required number of Social Security credits to receive a full benefit, then you would be able to collect 100 percent of her benefit.

If, as a widower, you filed for survivor’s benefits at age 60, but were under full retirement age, your benefit amount would be reduced between 71 percent and 99 percent of your wife’s benefit amount. You would also qualify for the $255 lump sum death burial benefit.

Get more information on survivor benefits.

Source: Social Security Administration