Social Security is the most significant source of income in retirement for many in the U.S., so it is imperative that future beneficiaries know how claiming age can affect their payout. For some married couples, it also means taking spousal benefits into consideration because they differ slightly from retired-worker benefits.
Read on to learn how spousal benefits are calculated. We will also look at how the average Social Security benefit for spouses changes based on the age of the applicant -- 62 to 70 -- when applying.
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How Social Security spousal benefits are calculated
Spouses can collect Social Security based on the work record of their retired partner if they meet three conditions:
- The spouse and their partner must be married for at least one year.
- The spouse must be at least 62 years old before claiming Social Security.
- The partner must already be receiving retired-worker benefits. If the partner has not yet started Social Security, the spouse (no matter how old) cannot claim spousal benefits.
Once those three conditions are met, the Social Security benefit paid to the spouse can be as much as one-half of the retired worker's primary insurance amount (PIA), which is the Social Security benefit the worker would receive at full retirement age (FRA). However, spouses are not entitled to that amount until they reach their FRA, which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.
Spouses who claim Social Security before their FRA receive a permanently reduced benefit, meaning they receive less than one-half of their partner's PIA. The reduction can be as severe as 35% of the spousal benefit if they claim at age 62, but the precise amount depends on individual circumstances. Anyone can use this calculator from the Social Security Administration to estimate their own spousal benefit.
Finally, unlike retired-worker benefits, spousal benefits do not accumulate delayed retirement credits. That means spouses do not get a bigger payout if they delay Social Security beyond their FRA.
The average Social Security retirement benefit for spouses
The Social Security Administration publishes a monthly snapshot detailing the average payout for various beneficiary groups. The latest snapshot says the average benefit paid to spouses of retired workers was $888 in September 2023.
The Social Security Administration also prints a more detailed statistical supplement once each year. That annual report includes age-specific data on various beneficiary groups. The most recent statistical supplement was used to create the chart below. It shows the average Social Security benefit paid to the spouses of retired workers in December 2022.
Chart by Author. Note: Benefit payments have been rounded to the nearest dollar.
The figures shown in the chart above align with my earlier discussion of how spousal benefits are calculated. Specifically, it makes sense that spousal benefits are smallest at age 62 because the payout reduction is most severe at that age. It also makes sense that spousal benefits increase in each subsequent year up to FRA, which fell between ages 66 and 67 in 2022.
The only thing that may not seem sensical is that spousal benefits peaked at age 69. The chart stops at age 70, so the full extent of that trend is not evident, but spousal benefits continue declining in each successive age cohort. Indeed, the average payout at age 80 was $872, and the average payout at age 90 was $816.
Why? The primary reason is that wages have historically increased faster than inflation, and wages (those paid to the retired worker) only influence spousal benefits up to FRA. Beyond that point, spousal benefits are influenced by inflation (via annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs)). So it makes sense that, in some age cohorts beyond FRA, spousal benefits begin to get smaller.
Here's the big picture: Delaying spousal benefits until FRA can dramatically increase the payout. Indeed, for individuals born in 1960 or later, the spousal benefit would be 54% bigger at FRA compared to age 62.
When does it make sense to delay spousal benefits beyond full retirement age?
As mentioned, spouses do not get delayed retirement credits, so it generally makes sense for spouses to start Social Security at their FRA. However, it could be advantageous to delay spousal benefits if their working partner is trying to maximize their own retirement benefit.
Married couples should consult a financial advisor to determine the best age to start Social Security. If that is not feasible, they should at least use a Social Security optimization calculator like Open Social Security. The platform calculates the probability-weighted benefit for every possible claiming age, and it selects the strategy that is expected to maximize lifetime spending power.
