Spousal benefits are worth up to 50% of the higher earning spouse's benefit at full retirement age.
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When you file for Social Securityyour spouse becomes eligible for payments known as spousal benefits. However, they will not receive these payments automatically. Instead, they must file with the Social Security Administration, whether or not they receive their own retirement benefits.
A financial advisor can help you plan for Social Security and build a comprehensive retirement income plan. Contact a trusted advisor.
For example, imagine that a man will receive $3,000 in his full retirement age. His wife can collect up to $1,500 in spousal benefits under his earnings history, but she must file for them. Here's a closer look at how spousal benefits work.
Spouse benefits is a form of Social Security payments for spouse beneficiaries. If you are married or previously married, you can claim benefits worth up to 50% of your spouse's full retirement benefit. For most people, this means the benefits they would receive at age 67. These payments are not deducted from your spouse's payments, and your spouse cannot change your right to receive them.
To claim spousal benefits, the SSA requires the following:
If both of these criteria are met, the secondary spouse can file for spousal benefits. However, there are two exceptions to these rules:
If the spouse has been divorced for more than two years, the secondary spouse can claim spousal benefits regardless of the primary spouse's retirement status.
If the secondary spouse is caring for a child who is under the age of 16 or is receiving disability benefits through the SSA. they can file for spousal benefits before age 62
You can also file for retirement benefits based on a former spouse's benefits if you were married for at least 10 years and you have not remarried. This is not affected by the marital status of the primary spouse, and in some situations, you may claim benefits before the primary spouse retires.
Whether it's guidance on spousal benefits or advice on how and when to withdraw money from retirement accounts, a financial advisor It can help you plan for retirement.
A woman looks on as her husband files for spousal benefits from the Social Security Administration.
Spousal benefits are capped at 50% of the higher earning spouse's “basic sum assured” (PIA) – their benefit at full retirement age. For example, if you receive $3,000 a month in Social Security, your spouse can receive up to $1,500 a month in spousal benefits if he waits until his own full retirement age.
Although spouses are eligible to claim spousal benefits as early as age 62, doing so will reduce their lifetime benefits by a certain percentage for each month before age 67. Claiming spousal benefits at age 62 can result in a benefit worth only 32.5% of the higher earning spouse's primary insurance amount. That is, if you claim spousal benefits at age 62 you would receive $32.50 for every $100 of the primary spouse's PIA.
Unfortunately, delaying spousal benefits beyond full retirement age does not have the opposite effect. Spousal benefits will not be increased if you claim them after the age of 67.
The SSA runs this calculation automatically when you apply for benefits. If you are entitled to your own retirement benefits, as well as spousal benefits, the SSA will issue whichever payment is greater. If you have already started receiving benefits based on your own earnings history, you can switch payments to spousal benefits once your spouse retires. This is usually done if your spousal benefits exceed your own retirement benefits.
And if you need help calculating Social Security benefits and deciding when to claim them, discuss it with a financial advisor.
Once eligible for Social Security spousal benefits, a recipient must file for those benefits, regardless of whether or not they have started receiving their own retirement benefits.
To understand how this works, let's look at our hypothetical situation from above. Imagine you expect to collect $3,000 a month from Social Security at full retirement age.
In all cases, your wife's spousal benefits would be based on your basic sum insured of $3,000, as well as her age. For example, if you retire at 67, here's how much her spousal benefits would be based on the age she chooses to claim:
62: $975 per month ($3,000 * 0.325)
67: $1,500 per month ($3,000 * 0.5)
70: $1,500 per month ($3,000 * 0.5)
As you can see, claiming spousal benefits at age 62 would leave her with just $975 a month, which is 32.5% of your base insurance amount. Once she reaches her own full retirement age, she becomes eligible for her maximum spousal benefit of $1,500 per month. Before filing for Social Security, consider talking to a financial planner to discuss how your benefits will affect your retirement income plan.
But what if your wife also has her own retirement benefits? How would spousal benefits affect the amount he ends up collecting?
For example, say your wife is eligible for $1,200 in retirement benefits based on her own earnings history. Since her own retirement benefit is less than her spousal benefit, the SSA would pay the latter. And if she were eligible for $1,600 based on her own work history, the SSA would pay that amount.
Spousal benefits are Social Security payments made based on the earnings record of a higher-earning spouse. Spouses can receive up to 50% of their spouse's Social Security benefits at full retirement age, but these payments are not automatically issued. Like all benefits, you must file with the SSA to receive them.
Social Security plays a central role in many Americans' plans for retirement. In fact, two people collecting the maximum benefit in 2024 can bring in a household income of almost $117,000. With that in mind, here it is some strategies for maximizing Social Security for you and your spouse.
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