Cover Your Other Half: The Social Security Spousal Benefit
Written by Kasey Ng
The Social Security spouse benefit is called a spousal benefit. It is one of the most important topics in social security benefit. By understanding how spousal benefit works, you can take full advantage by maximizing the total benefits that you and your spouse can receive.
How Social Security Spousal Benefit Works
As a spouse, you can receive a social security benefit based on either your own earning record or you can collect a spousal benefit. The amount of spousal benefit will be 50% of the amount of your spouse earning record.
The department of social security will decide whether you will collect your social security benefit or spousal benefit for you. The decision is based on which option will give you the highest amount of the benefit.
You must be age 62 to qualify for either the spousal benefit or your own social security benefit.
You can receive spousal benefit if and only if your spouse is receiving his or her own benefit.
Tip:There is a possible way to increase the total benefits that you receive in your retirement. After you reach your full-retirement age, you can choose to delay your own social security benefit and receive only spousal benefit. By doing so, you can increase your own social security benefit later in life (possibly when you turn to age 70), and you can still receive spousal benefit when you are between age 65 and age 70. For further details, read How To Maximize Social Security Benefit.
How to Calculate Spousal Benefit Based on Retirement Age
If you plan to collect spousal benefit before you reach full retirement age, your benefit will be permanently reduced. The followings are how you calculate your spousal benefit:
If you decide to receive spousal benefit once you reach age 64, you will receive 46% of your spouse full benefit.
If you receive spousal benefit at age 63, you will receive 42% of your spouse benefit.
If you receive spousal benefit at age 62, you will receive 37.5% of your spouse benefit.
Social Security Benefits Upon the Death of a Spouse
If you are a widow or widower, you can collect benefit once you reach 60.
If both you and your spouse are receiving benefit, upon the death of your spouse, you will receive the larger check among the two, but not both.
Upon the death of your spouse, you will receive a $225 one-time lump sum payment.
Spousal Benefits if You are Divorced
Even if you are divorced, you can still claim the spousal benefits if you meet the following criteria:
