What are Social Security spousal benefits? Normally a spousal benefit is 50% of the spouse's FRA benefit amount, reduced if the spouse claiming the spousal benefit is filing for benefits early. If you’re divorced, to qualify for spousal benefits you must: The amount of your spousal benefit depends on 1) your spouse’s earnings history and 2) how old you are when you claim your benefits. Compute the effect of early retirement for spouses How retirement benefits, spousal benefits, and widow(er) benefits are calculated, How to decide the best age to claim your benefit, How Social Security benefits are taxed and how that affects tax planning, Click here to see the full list. People receiving spousal benefits based on ex-spouses will continue to get their benefits even if the spouse suspends theirs. Social Security spousal benefits may be available, under certain circumstances to spouses, ex-spouses and widows and widowers. Next, the SSA calculates 50% of your spouse’s PIA. But all's not lost. We are often asked “How do you qualify for spousal benefits from Social Security”? & Other Important Information. be at least age 62 or have a qualifying child in her/his care. Instead, you will receive whichever benefit is higher. 4. on your spousal benefit as a percentage of the worker's primary insurance amount. However, spousal benefits are reduced by 25/36 of 1% for each month before your full retirement age, up to 36 months early. The Social Security Administration (SSA) issues benefits to retired workers as supportive income once the worker claims retirement benefits at or after age 62. Another requirement is that the spouse must Social Security is much broader than just the benefits provided to retired workers. Meanwhile, the higher earning spouse would delay taking Social Security for as long as possible to grow their earned benefits. Spousal benefits are based on the income earned during a qualifying worker’s life, as well as the retirement age of both the worker and their spouse. Social Security spousal benefits are a part of a worker’s retirement or disability benefit given to their spouse. When you turn 70, you would then switch to those earned benefits (assuming they are larger). If you claim before you reach your full retirement age, you will permanently lower your monthly benefit and even your survivor benefit. But that was only until they reached full retirement age. That 50% is the most you could be eligible for—but as with earned benefits, you’ll receive less if you claim before your full retirement age. Compute the effect of early retirement for spouses, Website Policies /, Enter the effective month and year for which you would like to begin receiving benefits: The amount you’re allowed to earn while receiving benefits depends on your age. Effect of the retirement choice on your benefit: A spouse can choose to retire as early as age 62, but If a spouse is eligible for a retirement benefit based on his or her own earnings, month following the effective month. If you were born on Jan. 2, 1954 or later, and you are married, the higher earning spouse may consider delaying claiming their benefits until age 70 to increase the benefit with delayed retirement credits. / His or her spouse, however, was still allowed to start collecting spousal benefits. If you're eligible for your own retirement benefits, you'll get those first. However, with spousal benefits, you have to apply for both your own earned benefit and spousal benefit at the same time. 5. For 2020, the earnings test limit is $18,240. Lower-earning spouses who claim their own Social Security benefit before full retirement age take a cut of as much as 25%. 2. Typically, that means you’ve paid into Social Security for at least 10 years over the course of your life. Any age and caring for a child entitled to receive benefits on your spouse’s record who is younger than age 16 or disabled. Social Security Spousal Benefits often represent a large part of the total benefits available to a couple. If you receive a pension based on work not covered by Social Security (for example government work), you can still collect Social Security spousal benefits, but the amount will be reduced. If you claim benefits before your full retirement age (table directly below), your benefits will be permanently reduced based on the number of months until you reach that age. You can claim a Social Security benefit based on your own earnings record, or you can collect a spousal benefit that will provide you 50 percent of the amount of your spouse’s Social Security benefit as calculated at their full retirement age, or FRA. Calculate what you're owed from Social Security in 2 minutes. People born on Jan. 1, 1954 or earlier, however, can still file a restricted application for just one benefit until they’ve reached full retirement age. Your full spouse’s benefit could be up to one-half the amount … This strategy would let you start receiving spousal benefits, while delaying taking your earned benefits, causing them to grow. If you are married or divorced and nearing retirement age, you may be eligible for spousal Social Security benefits. Again, this means you will not have a choice about waiting and switching. Social Security retirement benefits can start as early as age 62, but your benefits will be permanently reduced by up to 30%. You may decide to restrict your benefits application by: 1) filing for benefits under your own work record, or 2) filing for benefits as a widow/widower. Social Security's history goes back to a time when one-worker families were much more common than they are today, and some believe that spousal benefits have become obsolete. (You must be at least age 62 to begin receiving benefits.). Note that eligibility for the spousal disability benefit will end if he or she becomes eligible to receive significantly higher Social Security benefits on his or her own record. Eligibility requirements and benefit information. "primary insurance amount," primary insurance amount. If the spousal benefit is more than your own, you’ll get your own earned benefit plus an additional amount to bring you up to that higher spousal benefit amount. While the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 ended some of the strategizing around spousal benefits, but there are still ways to maximize your spousal benefits: Spousal benefits can play an important role in a comfortable retirement. You will reach normal retirement age and if that benefit is higher than the spousal benefit, then we pay the A spousal benefit is reduced 25/36 of one percent for each month before normal retirement age, up to 36 months. If you receive spousal benefits and are also entitled to disability. the worker's primary insurance amount. To qualify for spouse’s benefits, you must either be: At least 62 years of age. Social Security spousal benefits allow one spouse to draw a benefit based on the earnings record of their current spouse, or in some cases a divorced ex-spouse. the spouse will receive a reduced benefit. Social Security spousal benefits are a part of a worker’s retirement or disability benefit given to their spouse. If you qualify for Social Security spousal benefits, the size of your benefit can be up to 50% of your spouse or ex-spouse’s primary insurance amount (PIA). Who is eligible for spousal benefits from Social Security? The one exception is divorced couples. Under the new law (which affected everyone going forward, regardless of birth year) if your spouse suspends his or her earned benefits, your spousal benefits also will be suspended. There are also other scenarios where you can claim survivor benefits at a younger age (and a reduced percentage), including if you are taking care of a child under the age of 16 or you are disabled. (month/day/year format): If you were not born in the U.S., you will need to show lawful alien status, U.S. military discharge papers if you served before 1968, W-2 forms(s) and/or self-employment tax returns for last year. If the spouse begins receiving benefits Jane’s husband Bob files for a benefit as Jane’s spouse. 25 percent. You are eligible to begin retirement and spousal benefits starting at age 62. If you’ve been divorced more than once, your benefit can be based on your highest-earning spouse if that marriage meets the qualifications. The Government Pension Offset rule reduces spousal benefits by one-third of the public pension amount. Jennifer Thomas is a Chicago-based writer and editor who writes about social security, retirement, business, finance, health and lifestyles. Based on the GPO provision, if a person receives a government pension based on their earnings that were exempt from Social Security taxes, any Social Security spousal or survivor benefits … En español | When a Social Security beneficiary dies, his or her surviving spouse is eligible for survivor benefits. The 2015 law, however, changed the rules so that anyone born on or after Jan. 2, 1954 is affected by deemed filing even after he or she reaches full retirement age. If you were born before Jan. 2, 1954, and haven’t claimed your own benefits yet, you are still able to take advantage of the loophole. Social Security spousal benefits are just one of these features. If the number of months exceeds 36, then the benefit is For this to work, your spouse must have already filed for their benefits. Spousal benefits allow you to get up to 50 percent of the total benefits your spouse is eligible for without taking away from their benefits. HI Larry, My wife turned 62 in November 2019 and is collecting $700 per month as a … A surviving spouse can collect 100 percent of the late spouse’s benefit if the survivor has reached full retirement age , but the amount will be lower if the deceased spouse claimed benefits before he or she reached full … However, your benefit does not depend on when your spouse claims. A Testimonial from a Reader on Amazon: Applying a 25 percent reduction to the $800 amount gives a spousal benefit percent for each month before normal retirement age, up to 36 months. My fathers social security check is significantly larger than hers so I suggested she look into claiming 50% spousal benefit based on his check amount. So if your spouse’s PIA is $1,000, you could receive a maximum of $500 in spousal benefits. There are two exceptions where deemed filing doesn’t apply: The second loophole that the law ended was a practice called file and suspend. (Check the Social Security website to determine your FRA, as it depends on your year of birth.) If your spouse or ex-spouse dies and has earned benefits that are higher than yours, you could be eligible for survivor benefits.The size of survivor benefits is based on 1) Your spouse or ex-spouse’s earnings; 2) Your full survivors retirement age; and 3) Whether your spouse or ex was receiving reduced benefits (meaning they started taking Social Security before their full retirement age). Before you reach full retirement age, the Social Security Administration deducts $1 from your benefits for every $2 you earn above the annual limit. You can file for spousal benefits the same way you would earned benefits: on the Social Security Administration website, by phone at 1-800-772-1213, or by visiting your local Social Security field office. By a qualifying child, For a spouse who is not entitled to benefits on his or her own earnings record, this reduction factor is applied to the base spousal benefit, which is 50 percent of The criteria for spousal benefits varies depending on whether you’re married or divorced: If you’re married, to qualify for spousal benefits you must: If you’re divorced, your benefits aren’t connected in the same way, so you can claim spousal benefits even if your ex isn’t collecting Social Security yet. Note that you do not need the consent of your ex-spouse. Calculate the Social Security you’re owed in 2 minutes. But if you’re married, you’ll also have to run some calculations and consider and decide when you and your spouse should start collecting benefits based on varying income history, age, health, and life expectancy. If your spouse is not yet receiving retirement benefits, you can claim your own Social Security starting at 62, and later switch to spousal benefits when your spouse files. She said social security told her when she elected to receive her own benefit at age 62 she eliminated the option to collect a spousal benefit. In most cases, if you can afford to, it pays to wait until you reach your full retirement age to claim your benefits. If My Spouse Dies, Can I Collect Their Social Security Benefits? (Note: there is an exception to this rule for spousal benefits – see the loophole directly below). With survivor benefits, you also are allowed to file a restricted application (applying just for your own earned benefits or just for survivor benefits). In fact, the Social Security Administration (SSA) provides an important source of retirement income for many Americans, including the spouses, ex-spouses, widows, widowers, and dependent children of workers. The earliest you can claim survivor benefits is age 60 (whereas the earliest you could be eligible for retirement or spousal benefits is age 62). Both of you, however, must be at least age 62. When you apply for Social Security spousal benefits, they may ask you to provide the following documents to confirm you are eligible: Applying and ensuring you claim the right benefit at the right time for your personal finances can be confusing. But you have the advantage of not needing to wait for your ex to file for his or her own benefits first. A spousal benefit is reduced 25/36 of one Social Security calculates and pays the higher amount. Intended for married couples with a sole or primary breadwinner, spousal benefits can significantly increase the amount of money you have coming in during retirement. before "normal (or full) retirement age," This benefit is even more important for many divorced spouses, as it might represent the only benefits available to many divorcees. The spousal benefit can be as much as half of the worker's Benefits that are taken more than 36 months early are reduced an additional 5/12 of 1%. If you’re divorced, you’ll get the maximum spousal benefit, 50%, if you wait to reach your full retirement age. A Social Security spousal benefit is calculated as 50% of the other spouse’s PIA. Once approved, you will receive monthly payments by check or direct deposit. of $600. If you continue to work while receiving benefits, the retirement benefit earnings limit still applies until you reach full retirement age. and the worker's spouse chooses to begin receiving benefits 36 months before his or her For example, if the worker's primary insurance amount is $1,600 further reduced 5/12 of one percent per month. Note that the age at which the other spouse files for Social Security benefits doesn’t affect this calculation. If you’re eligible and can qualify, the spousal benefit can be as much as 50% of the higher-earning spouse’s full retirement age benefit. Keep in mind, this would mean delaying when. benefit. (Please note that benefits are generally paid in the A: When a claimant is on a Social Security disability claim, spousal benefits are payable under that claim as soon as the spouse reaches age 62, says David Cechanowicz a … in . With survivor benefits, if your late spouse boosted his or her Social Security payment by waiting past FRA to file, your survivor benefit would also increase. You can get Social Security survivors or retirement benefits and work at the same time. we mean a child who is under age 16 or who receives Social Security disability benefits. Social Security benefits that may extend to the spouse are known as “SSA spousal benefits”. We break down everything you need to know, and how to apply for spousal benefits. Indeed, to claim Social Security spousal benefits, you’ll need to meet certain criteria. The Social Security Administration (SSA) allows several exceptions to the one-year marriage requirement to qualify for spousal benefits. In order to be eligible for spousal benefits, your spouse or ex-spouse must still be living. Spousal benefits are based on the income earned during a qualifying worker’s life, as well as the retirement age of both the worker and their spouse. / Example: Jane files for her retirement benefit at age 63 and is therefore receiving a retirement benefit that is smaller than her PIA. Prior to the law change, people who were eligible for earned benefits and spousal benefits were required to file for both at the same time, a practice known as deemed filing. You can apply for retirement benefits at age 70 to receive all the delayed retirement credits.Our system is set up to take applications four months in advance, and when you’re ready, you can apply for your retirement benefits online.. When you apply for benefits, Social Security will automatically consider you to be applying for both your own benefits and any spousal benefits. doing so may result in a benefit as little as 32.5 percent of the worker's Survivor benefits are for people whose spouse or ex-spouse has passed away. The maximum spousal benefit is equal to … If you’ve worked enough to qualify for your own Social Security retirement benefits, you will not get both benefits added together. There are many differences between spousal benefits and survivor benefits. That allowed them to rack up delayed retirement credits until they turned 70. 7  If one spouse is already receiving their own benefits, and later becomes eligible for a spousal benefit, there is a formula that is used to determine what amount of spousal benefit (if any) they may receive. Your spouse or ex-spouse also must be living (if they are not, you may be eligible for survivors benefits). When can a spouse claim spousal benefits? Here are two of the major exceptions: An individual seeking spousal benefits may qualify if married to the worker for less than one year if he or she is the natural (biological) parent of the worker’s child. PIA is the amount of Social Security benefits that your spouse is entitled to at his or her full retirement age (which is based on birth year, and could be between age 65 and 67 – see table in “How are spousal benefits calculated for Social Security?” section). benefit based on the worker's earnings. depending on the spouse's age at retirement. 1. like to begin receiving benefits, we will tell you the effect of early retirement Once you reach age 62, you are entitled to receive a spousal benefit even if you have never worked. If you’re younger than full retirement age, the 2021 earnings limit is $18,960. insurance amount. 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