Under certain circumstances you may receive disability benefits based on a deceased spouse’s social security number. First, you must apply. It is important to note that the people at social security often get widow’s disability and widow’s retirement confused. You can be eligible for widow’s disability benefits if you are between the ages of 50-59. Widow’s retirement can be received if you are age 60 or older. Sometimes someone at the Social Security Administration will inform an applicant that they are ineligible for widow’s disability because they are younger than age 60. This is incorrect and is a mistake made frequently. Also, to be eligible for widow’s disability the applicant must have become disabled within 7 years of the date of death of the spouse, unless that person received mother’s or father’s benefits, in which case it is 7 years from the time those mother’s or father’s benefits ended. There are other eligibility requirements for widow’s disability benefits, including how long that person was married. Even a divorced spouse can receive widow’s disability benefits if the marriage lasted 10 years or longer.