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Medicare, Disability and Marriage

A significant portion of your eligibility for public benefits is related to your marital status. Generally, the government considers a person's family size a determining factor in qualifying for benefits and the amount they receive. If you are married, the income requirements you must meet for eligibility usually have higher limits than for single individuals, and your benefits are also higher.

  1. Medicare

    • Being married brings some advantages in terms of Medicare coverage. If you have paid Medicare tax while you were working, you are eligible to enroll in Medicare Part A, which is free hospital insurance. If you did not pay Medicare tax, you have to pay monthly premiums for Part A. However, if you never worked or paid Medicare tax but you are married and your spouse did so, you also qualify for free Medicare Part A coverage. Another advantage is that if you sign up for Medicare at a later period than when you turn 65 years of age, you have to pay a late penalty. As a married person, if your spouse had group insurance and you were included in it, you do not need to pay a late penalty when you enroll in Medicare.

    Social Security Disability

    • Social Security Disability (SSD) is another federal program. This program pays benefits to people who are disabled and have paid Social Security tax for a specific period of time according to their age. Based on your work in terms of income and how many years you worked before receiving benefits, your spouse can also get disability benefits. This can happen in two circumstances. If your spouse has never worked and she is older than 62 years of age, she also qualifies to receive SSD benefits with you. Your spouse also qualifies if she is younger than 62 years of age but she is caring for your child who is younger than 16 years of age or disabled.

    Supplemental Security Income

    • Supplemental Security Income (SSI) also pays benefits to people with a disability or blindness who have a low income. Unlike the SSD program, you are not required to have paid Social Security tax to receive SSI benefits. Being married also has an impact on the way benefits are paid under the SSI program. To be eligible for benefits, you must have low income and few resources. The Social Security office includes your spouse's income and resources when deciding whether or not you qualify for benefits, which could limit your eligibility if your spouse makes a substantial amount of money. However, if you do qualify, the amount of benefits you receive is also higher. As of 2011, SSI pays $1,011 per month for married people.

    Marriage and Benefits

    • If you qualify as a married person for one of the benefits mentioned above, you might also qualify to enroll in all of them. You can call the Social Security office and ask them about your eligibility to enroll in other programs as a married individual. You can also look for more information on the Social Security website.

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