The first exception, which can be deemed as the Social Security spousal benefits loophole, works where an individual who remarries at 60 or later may still be entitled to Social Security survivors' benefits if the second marriage ends before the death of the first spouse.
The spousal benefit can be as much as half of the worker's "primary insurance amount," depending on the spouse's age at retirement. If the spouse begins receiving benefits before "normal (or full) retirement age," the spouse will receive a reduced benefit.
Bottom Line. The maximum monthly Social Security benefit of $5,108 is only available to high earners who wait to claim their benefits until the age of 70. The maximum benefit a married couple could collect would be twice that at $10,216 and require both of them to earn $176,100 or more over 35 years of work.
Yes, both spouses can still work while collecting Social Security benefits. However, there are earnings limits that may affect the amount of Social Security benefits received if income exceeds a certain threshold.
Spouses and ex-spouses
Payments start at 71.5% of your spouse's benefit and increase the longer you wait to apply. For example, you might get: Over 75% at age 61.
If you have since remarried, you can't collect benefits on your former spouse's record unless your later marriage ended by annulment, divorce, or death. Also, if you're entitled to benefits on your own record, your benefit amount must be less than you would receive based on your ex-spouse's work.
In addition, to be eligible for spouse's benefits, you must be one of the following: 62 years of age or older. Any age if you have a child who is younger than 16 in your care or has a disability and is entitled to benefits on your spouse's record.
Have you heard about the Social Security $16,728 yearly bonus? There's really no “bonus” that retirees can collect. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a specific formula based on your lifetime earnings to determine your benefit amount.
If you've reached your full retirement age, you can receive 100% of your spouse's disability benefits. If you're between 50 and 59 and you also have a disability, you can receive 71.5% percent of your spouse's benefits.
You're eligible for spousal benefits if you're married, divorced, or widowed, and your spouse is or was eligible for Social Security. Spouses and ex-spouses generally are eligible for up to half of the spouse's benefits. Widows and widowers can receive up to 100%.
The Social Security 5-year rule refers specifically to disability benefits. It requires that you must have worked five out of the last ten years immediately before your disability onset to qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
If the widow does not wait until age 60 to marry, she cannot claim the widow benefit on her first husband's record. This leaves her ineligible for Social Security benefits for the first 24 months after attaining age 60. Assume that she files for the spouse benefit from her second husband's record at age 62.
If your spouse is not receiving any retirement benefits yet, then you could technically take your regular Social Security benefit as early as age 62. When your spouse files for their benefit later you could switch to spousal benefits.
This is good news when former spouses are not on good terms. Your ex cannot “block” you from drawing your spousal benefit. In fact, he probably won't even know if you are drawing off him unless he calls SSA to ask.
Exactly how much in earnings do you need to get a $3,000 benefit? Well, you just need to have averaged about 70% of the taxable maximum. In our example case, that means that your earnings in 1983 were about $22,000 and increased every year to where they ended at about $100,000 at age 62.
To qualify to get $144 added back to your Social Security check, you can enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan that offers a Part B premium reduction or giveback benefit.
• If you've worked and paid taxes into the Social Security system for at least 10 years and have earned a minimum of 40 work credits, you can collect your own benefits as early as age 62. • We base Social Security benefits on your lifetime earnings.
A spouse who has never worked in paid jobs or has not worked to earn sufficient credits to be eligible for his/her own retired worker benefits can receive a spousal benefit that is 50 percent of the eligible worker's full benefit.
If you get Social Security disability or retirement benefits and you marry, your benefit will stay the same. However, other benefits such as SSI, Survivors, Divorced Spouses, and Child's benefits may be affected.
Either spouse can maximize their regular Social Security benefit amount by waiting past their full-retirement age to apply, up to age 70. Benefits generally increase 8% each year filing is delayed.
Marriage has its perks
Social Security covers both spouses, regardless of whether one or both brought home a paycheck over the years.
Surviving spouse, at full retirement age or older, generally gets 100% of the worker's basic benefit amount. Surviving spouse, age 60 or older, but under full retirement age, gets between 71% and 99% of the worker's basic benefit amount.
But even if you never worked and therefore don't have an earnings record, you're not necessarily out of luck. If you're married (or were married) to someone who's entitled to Social Security, you can collect spousal benefits equal to 50% of your husband or wife's benefits at full retirement age.