If you’re currently married, divorced, or widowed, you may be entitled to Social Security benefits based on your partner’s (or ex’s) work record. Here’s everything you need to know about these "spousal benefits"…

How to qualify for spousal Social Security benefits

If you’re married, you can claim a spousal benefit only after your spouse files for Social Security benefits and you’ve been married for at least one continuous year—provided you also meet either of the following criteria:

· You’re at least 62 years of age.

· You’re caring for a child who is under age 16 or has had a disability since before age 22 (sometimes making you eligible regardless of your age).

How spousal benefits work

If you decide to claim a spousal benefit, your benefit amount is based on your age when you retire and the amount your spouse is eligible for. Nevertheless, the most you can earn is 50% of your spouse’s full Social Security benefit.

However, to receive the entire 50%, you’ll need to wait until your full retirement age (FRA)—when you’re entitled to receive full Social Security benefits—to collect. This is currently age 67 for those born after 1960.

File a claim any earlier, and your benefit will see a permanent reduction to as little as 32.5% of your spouse’s benefit. More specifically, spousal benefits are reduced by 25/36 of 1% for each month before the typical retirement age—up to 36 months. If the number of months prior to your FRA exceeds 36, the benefit is further reduced by 5/12 of 1% per month. You can visit the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) website to compute the percentage you’d be personally entitled to.

How spousal benefits work if you’re caring for a qualifying child

If your spouse has already filed for benefits and you care for a child who is under age 16 or receives Social Security disability benefits on the work record of your spouse, you can qualify for child-in-care spousal benefits: with your benefit amount mirroring standard spousal benefits, in that you’ll receive 50% of your spouse’s earnings. Unlike regular spousal benefits, however, there is no minimum age requirement to claim child-in-care spousal benefits. What’s more, if you file prior to your full retirement age, your benefits will not face a reduction for early retirement as they would represent regular spousal benefits.

The benefit is then suspended after you’re no longer eligible for your child-in-care spousal benefit (e.g., when your child turns 16). If you’re at least 62 years of age at that time, you can file for regular spousal benefits or claim benefits based on your work history; keep in mind, however, that filing a claim before your FRA will result in a permanently reduced benefit for either option.

How spousal benefits work if you’re divorced

If you’re divorced, you can receive divorced-spouse benefits based on your ex-spouse’s work—provided he or she personally qualifies for benefits. Additional prerequisites include:

· Your marriage must have lasted for at least 10 years.

· You’ve been divorced for at least two years.

· You have not remarried.

· You’re at least 62 years old.

· The benefits you’d receive based on your work history are less than what you’d receive via spousal benefits.

Should you meet the aforementioned requirements as a divorcee, you can begin claiming benefits whether or not your spouse has already filed for his/hers. In general, you’re entitled to up to 50% of your ex-spouse’s retirement benefit if you filed a claim upon reaching full retirement age—while submitting a divorced-spouse benefit claim before this will result in a permanent benefit reduction.

It’s also important to know that the scope of benefits you receive will not affect those of your ex-spouse and his/her current spouse (if applicable). For example, if the SSA were to determine that your ex-spouse is entitled to $1,000, you would receive $500. If your ex’s current spouse also files a claim, he/she would receive $500 as well.

How spousal benefits work if you’re a widow

If your spouse passes away, you can collect a “survivor’s benefit” as early as age 60 provided you were married for at least nine months (or less than this if you’re a caregiver for a minor child of your deceased spouse). If you’re disabled, note you can collect these benefits as early as age 50. Even if you’re divorced and your ex-spouse dies, you might be able to obtain the same benefits as any current spouse assuming you were married for at least 10 years or care for a qualifying child.

Widowers can receive up to 100% of a spouse’s benefit amount provided they submit the claim upon reaching full retirement age. If you apply before reaching this milestone, your benefits will be reduced—with the amount depending on your age. As a widow, you also have the option to initially claim spousal benefits and then later switch to claim benefits under your work record—which might make sense if you’re due for a larger benefit at full retirement age or beyond.

If you had both claimed Social Security benefits at the time of your spouse’s death, note you’d only receive one check from Social Security per the higher benefit amount.

Other details to know about spousal benefits

For you to qualify for spousal benefits, your spouse must have at least 10 years of work—or 40 credits—to his or her name. To earn one credit, he or she would need to have earned at least $1,730 (as of 2024) in a given year—with no more than four credits (a minimum of $6,920 in compensation) available to earn per year.

In sum: an overview of Social Security spousal benefits

Now that you realize which Social Security spousal benefits you may be entitled to, the next step is to maximize them. This is precisely when a financial advisor can step in to help you formulate a strategy to make the most of these benefits.

Still have questions about Social Security spousal benefits? Schedule a FREE Discovery call with one of our CFP® professionals.

FAQs

In some cases, yes. If your income falls between $25,000 and $34,000 ($32,000 and $44,000 if married and filing jointly), you’ll be required to federal pay taxes on up to 50% of your Social Security benefits. This number shoots up to 85% if you earn more than $34,000 and are single (or more than $44,000 if you are married and filing jointly).
Some states—Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah, and Vermont—also levy taxes (to varying degrees) on Social Security income.
If you’re entitled to any benefits from your own work history in addition to any divorced spousal benefits, you’ll be paid the highest total amount rather than a combination of the two. If your spousal benefits exceed your own, you’ll receive the amount of your own benefits first and then a second amount that ultimately equals the total spousal benefits you are entitled to. If your benefits (based on your own work history) exceed your spousal benefits, you’ll only receive the amount grounded in your own personal record.
You can work and collect Social Security benefits concurrently. However, if you work prior to your full retirement age, the dollar amount of your monthly Social Security check is temporarily reduced if you earn more than the yearly earnings limit set by the Social Security Administration (SSA).
The same holds true if your spouse is working and he/she has not yet reached full retirement age; in this case, you too can have spousal benefits withheld depending on your spouse’s income.

How Social Security Spousal Benefits Work