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.
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. Your spouse is elgible for retirement benefits (62 or older)
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.
A Social Security spousal rule that was around for decades ended this year for the last eligible retirees — those who turned 70 on Jan. 1, 2024. The rule allowed recipients to switch between their benefits and their spouses' to receive the maximum amount.
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.
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.
People are only eligible for a spousal benefit when their own benefit is less than half of their retired spouse's benefit, or when they seek to delay their own application for Social Security benefits based on their own work record.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
A married spouse without an earnings record (or whose record would result in a lower Social Security payment) can collect on his or her spouse's earnings record when his or her spouse turns 62. Collecting Social Security at 62 has some advantages.
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 72.5 million Americans will increase 2.5 percent in 2025. Read more about the Social Security Cost-of-Living adjustment for 2025. The maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $176,100.
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.
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).
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.
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.
For spouses to receive the benefit, they must be at least age 62 or care for a child under age 16 (or one receiving Social Security disability benefits). In addition, spouses cannot claim the spousal benefit until the worker files for their benefit.
What is Spousal Refusal? Spousal Refusal, which has been dubbed, “just say no,” is when a non-applicant spouse of a long-term care Medicaid applicant refuses to help pay the cost of long-term care for their spouse.
A wife with no work record or low benefit entitlement on her own work record is eligible for between one-third and one-half of her spouse's Social Security benefit.
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.
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.