Maximize Your Spousal Social Security Benefits: Top 4 Essential Tips

Social Security is often seen as a mandatory savings program for retirement, which is essentially true. Both employers and employees contribute to this program. An interesting feature of Social Security is that it allows a spouse to receive benefits based on the earnings record of their partner.

But how exactly do these spousal benefits work? Here are four key points every retired couple should understand.

1. Eligibility for Spousal Social Security Benefits

To begin with, you cannot receive spousal Social Security benefits until your spouse has started their own benefits. This doesn’t require your spouse to be at their full retirement age, and the benefits can be from retirement or disability claims.

You also need to be at least 62 years old, the minimum age to start receiving retirement benefits, to be eligible for spousal benefits.

However, there is an exception. If you are caring for a child who is either under 16 years old or disabled and qualifies for benefits on your spouse’s record, you can claim spousal benefits regardless of your age.

2. Calculation of Spousal Benefits

The amount you receive as a spousal benefit is based on what your spouse is entitled to at their full retirement age. If you wait until your own full retirement age to claim these benefits, you could receive up to 50% of your spouse’s entitlement.

However, there’s a caveat. The Social Security Administration will compare the spousal benefit you would receive with the retirement benefits you’ve earned from your own work. You will be awarded the higher of the two amounts.

You need to apply for your own retirement benefits when you apply for spousal benefits, a rule known as “deemed filing,” which started in January 2016. This prevents individuals from manipulating the timing of different claims to increase their benefits.

If you claim spousal benefits before reaching full retirement age, your benefits are reduced by 25/36 of 1% for each month before your normal retirement age, up to 36 months. If the early claim exceeds 36 months, the reduction increases to five-twelfths of 1% per month.

3. Benefits of Delaying Spousal Claims

While individual retirees can increase their benefits by delaying claims past their full retirement age (benefits increase by 8% each year delayed until age 70, capping at 24%), this does not apply to spousal benefits. The maximum you can receive from spousal benefits remains 50% of your spouse’s entitlement at their full retirement age.

4. Spousal Benefits Post-Divorce

If you are divorced, you might still be eligible for spousal benefits based on your ex-spouse’s earnings record. The main requirement is that the marriage lasted at least 10 years. Additionally, certain types of legal relationships, even if not marital, might qualify for these benefits according to the Social Security Administration.

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(This story’s headline was updated.)

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