Spousal Benefits for Retired Workers
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.
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.
Marriage has its perks
Social Security covers both spouses, regardless of whether one or both brought home a paycheck over the years.
Getting Married
However, if you remarry after age 60 (or after 50 and are disabled), those benefits remain intact, unless you get spousal benefits through your new spouse (at age 62 or older) if those benefits are higher.
If the spouses divorced, the marriage must have lasted 10 years. 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.
Bottom Line. Getting remarried will not affect your accrued retirement or disability benefits under Social Security. However, if you receive divorce of survivor's benefits, there is a good chance that remarriage will affect those payments.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Can you still receive Social Security as a stay-at-home mom or dad? The good news is you can. If you are a married person with little to no earnings history, you can receive a benefit up to half of your spouse's Social Security.
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.
If your spouse dies, do you get both Social Security benefits? You cannot claim your deceased spouse's benefits in addition to your own retirement benefits. Social Security only will pay one—survivor or retirement. If you qualify for both survivor and retirement benefits, you will receive whichever amount is higher.
Resource limits could also impact your Social Security
If you exceed that limit, you need to spend down your resources to be eligible. According to a recent study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 70,000 beneficiaries on average lose their benefits each year because they exceed the limit.
By waiting until age 70 to start receiving benefits, you've maximized the monthly payment amount. Your benefit amount increases every month you delay until you reach 70 years old.
Yes, you can. Notify the Social Security Administration that you were married more than once and may qualify for benefits on more than one spouse's earnings record.
Ninety-five percent of never-beneficiaries are individuals whose earnings histories are insufficient to qualify for benefits. Late-arriving immigrants and infrequent workers comprise the vast majority of these insufficient earners.
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.
There's nothing anyone can do to prevent their ex from claiming their Social Security. Even though some divorce decrees specify that one spouse will relinquish their rights to collect the other spouse's benefits, the Social Security Administration says these provisions “are worthless and are never enforced.”
However, your maximum spouse's benefit remains 50% of their full retirement age benefit, not their higher amount including delayed retirement credits. (Your benefit as a surviving spouse would be based on the higher amount.)