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.
Consider this example: Sandy is eligible for a monthly retirement benefit of $1,000 and a spouse's benefit of $1,250. If she waits for Social Security until her full retirement age, she will receive her own $1,000 retirement benefit. We will add $250 from her spouse's benefit, for a total of $1,250 a month.
Key takeaways
The spouse's Social Security benefit amount is up to one-half the amount that the wage-earning spouse is eligible to receive at full retirement age. If you qualify for Social Security on your own, you can still claim Social Security spousal benefits.
If your spouse is eligible, you're generally eligible for 1/2 their payment instead of one of your own. So if you never worked, or if the payment based on your work history is less than 1/2 your spouse's, you can receive social security based on your partner's work history.
Marriage has its perks
There is a catch: the spouse collecting benefits must be at least 62 or have a child who is either under the age of 16 or receiving Social Security disability benefits. Additionally, someone cannot receive spousal benefits until their spouse has filed for benefits, regardless of age.
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.
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.
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.
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).
Spousal benefits, if you qualify, can potentially provide up to half of what a higher-earning spouse is entitled to collect. Spousal benefits can be claimed as early as age 62, but you can potentially earn more by waiting until your own full-retirement age.
And if you decide that one of you will wait longer than the other to start collecting, it makes more sense for the higher earner to wait. In other words, the split strategy that many couples use is to have the lower earner collect first for as long as the couple can manage their finances on one Social Security payment.
You may qualify for benefits on your spouse's Social Security earnings record if: You are 62 or older. Or, you are younger but caring for a child under 16 or a child with disabilities who is under 19.
The SSA cannot pay benefits for the month of a recipient's death. That means if the person died in July, the check or direct deposit received in August (which is payment for July) must be returned.
Each survivor benefit can be up to 100% of your benefit. The amount may be reduced if the women start benefits before their own full retirement age, but they don't have to share — the amount isn't reduced because you've had more than one spouse.
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.
The Bottom Line. A number of situations could put your pension at risk, including underfunding, mismanagement, bankruptcy, and legal exemptions. Laws exist to protect you in such circumstances, but some laws provide better protection than others.
If you are receiving retirement or disability benefits, your spouse may be eligible for spouse benefits if they are: At least age 62. Any age and caring for a child who is under age 16 or who has a disability that began before age 22.
If your spouse built up entitlement to the State Second Pension between 2002 and 2016, you are entitled to inherit 50% of this amount; PLUS. If your spouse built up entitlement to Graduated Retirement Benefit between 1961 and 1975, you are entitled to inherit 50% of this amount.
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.
You can start receiving your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62. However, you are entitled to full benefits only when you reach your full retirement age. If you delay taking your benefits from your full retirement age up to age 70, your benefit amount will increase.
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.