Social Security is a vital source of retirement income for most women.  For this reason, it is important to sympathise how the spousal benefit works and how it tin impact the amount of Social Security income you receive.

As a spouse, you lot tin can claim a Social Security do good based on your ain earnings record, or collect a spousal benefit in the amount of 50% of your spouse's Social Security benefit, but not both.  You are automatically entitled to receive whichever benefit provides you the higher monthly corporeality.  In order to qualify for Social Security spousal benefits, you lot must be at least 62 years old and your spouse must also exist collecting his or her own benefits.  Additionally, if you are the college earner, your spouse tin apply to collect spousal benefits based on your work record.  Information technology is important to notation that claiming a spousal benefit does not impact the benefit amount received by the worker whose earning record is being used.

Taking Benefits Early on

If your spouse takes Social Security before his full retirement age, his or her monthly benefits will be reduced.  Your spousal benefits in plough will be calculated based on this reduced amount, thereby reducing your monthly benefits.  If your spouse takes Social Security early on, and y'all also accept Social Security early, you will exist significantly reducing the amount of benefits that may be paid out over your lifetime.  This is because the earlier you take your benefits earlier your full retirement age, the more than your benefits are reduced.  For example, if your full retirement historic period were 66, then the post-obit reductions to benefits would apply:

  • At age 65, you would receive 45.8% of your spouse'southward benefit.
  • At age 64, you would receive 41.7% of your spouse's benefit.
  • At age 63, yous would receive 37.5% of your spouse's benefit.
  • At age 62, you would receive 35% of your spouse's benefit.

Recent Changes to Claiming Strategies that Affect Spousal Benefits

In 2022, changes were fabricated to Social Security that substantially concluded the pick to "file and suspend"—a strategy that immune one spouse (the college earner) to file for a retirement benefit at total retirement age and append (delay) receiving the benefit.  Past filing for the do good, the lower-earning spouse could then merits a spousal do good.  The new laws also concluded the ability to file a "restricted application" for spouse'due south benefits. This strategy applied to workers who reached full retirement age, and whose spouse was already receiving worker benefits. This immune workers to file only for their spousal do good while delaying their own retirement benefits to age 70 in order to accumulate delayed retirement credits and maximize benefits.  This strategy was usually practical if the worker delaying retirement benefits would accept a college benefit based on their own work tape. In other words, they could receive their spousal do good while waiting for their own do good to grow. These options are no longer available for anyone who turned 66 subsequently May 1, 2022.  As well important to note: At that place were no changes to survivor benefit rules. Widows or widowers tin still claim a survivor'southward benefit equally early as age 60 before they claim their own worker benefit. Learn more most these changes in WISER's fact sheet, Changes to Social Security Claiming Strategies .

Divorced Spouses

You tin can receive benefits as a divorced spouse on your ex-spouse's Social Security record, even if they remarried and their electric current spouse is collecting benefits based on their tape.  However, there are a few eligibility requirements:

  • You must have been married to your ex-spouse for at least 10 years.
  • You must be at least 62 years quondam. Even so, if your ex-spouse is deceased and you are currently single, you may collect benefits as early as age 60 every bit a surviving divorced spouse.  If he or she is deceased and y'all are disabled, you tin can collect benefits as early as age 50.
  • Your ex-spouse must be eligible for benefits and currently receiving benefits for you lot to qualify for spousal benefits. If you were built-in later January 1st, 1954, you will exist required to claim all benefits at ane fourth dimension (both spousal and retirement) and receive whichever is college.
  • If you were born before January 2, 1954, you may notwithstanding collect on an ex-spouse's tape first while allowing your own benefits to grow and and then take your own benefits at historic period lxx.
  • If your ex has reached retirement age and is eligible to receive retirement benefits but has non yet applied, you lot tin still apply for ex-spousal benefits if you lot take been divorced for at to the lowest degree 2 years.
  • You must non be currently married. If y'all remarried and divorced your second spouse, you can claim benefits from either your first or your second spouse as long as each matrimony lasted at to the lowest degree ten years.

Surviving Spouses

  • If your spouse passes away, yous can collect survivor'southward benefits every bit early as age 60. You are eligible to receive benefits based on his or her full Social Security benefit corporeality (but notation that that amount will yet be reduced if you lot claim the benefits earlier your own full retirement age.)
  • If your ex-spouse is deceased and you remarry earlier age 60 (or l if you are disabled), you cannot receive survivor's benefits unless the latter marriage ends (whether it exist through decease, divorce, or annulment). If you remarry later age 60, you can keep to receive benefits on your former spouse's Social Security tape.  Even so, if your current married man is also a Social Security beneficiary and yous would receive a larger benefit from your second spouse'south work record than you would from your deceased spouse's record, you should apply for spousal benefits on your electric current spouse's record.  You cannot receive both benefits.
  • Regardless of your age or marital status, if y'all are caring for your deceased spouse'due south kid or children, you would exist eligible to receive benefits for raising them until they are sixteen years quondam. These children can and so continue to receive benefits based on your spouse'south work record until they are xviii or nineteen, as long as they are single.  If a child is nonetheless a full-time student (no college grade than grade 12) when they turn eighteen, they can continue to receive benefits until 2 months after they turn 19 or until they graduate, whichever comes first.  Children who are disabled tin as well continue to receive benefits after they plow 18 years onetime.

Applying for Benefits

You can employ for benefits online past going to ssa.gov.  You can also utilise over the telephone by calling 1-800-772-1213, or employ in person by visiting your local Social Security part.

To brand the application procedure easier, you should know your spouse'southward (or ex-spouse'due south) engagement of nascency and Social Security number.  Yous may also be asked to provide sure documents as proof of eligibility, such every bit your birth certificate or other proof of nascency, naturalization papers, West-ii forms, a wedlock document, or divorce papers if y'all're applying equally a divorced spouse.

Finally, educate yourself nigh your options and what benefits yous are eligible for earlier you claim. Unfortunately, there are cases where applicants receive misinformation from Social Security representatives; information technology is a complicated organization and every person's situation is unique.  Learn equally much equally you tin to maximize your benefit.

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