If you're married, you have a few different ways to collect benefits from Social Security. If you worked and are entitled to a monthly benefit of your own, you can claim it based on your wage history. And if you're married to (or divorced from) from someone who's eligible for Social Security, you can collect a spousal benefit once they file for benefits of their own. (If you're divorced, you may be able to get spousal benefits before your ex files.)
You may be wondering if you're allowed to collect both your own personal Social Security benefit as well as a spousal benefit. And the answer is yes, you can. But you can't double dip and collect both benefits at the same time.
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When your spousal benefit is the more generous payday
If you're eligible for a monthly Social Security benefit based on your personal earnings history, the only reason to want a spousal benefit off the bat is if it's higher than the monthly benefit you're eligible for on your own.
So, let's say that based on your wage history, you're entitled to a monthly Social Security benefit of $1,400. If your spouse is eligible for $3,000, you can collect $1,500 provided you wait until your full retirement age to start receiving Social Security. So in this case, it makes sense that you'd want a spousal benefit, since it's more money.
However, if you're still married, you have to wait until your spouse files for Social Security to claim a spousal benefit. And if you're older and are retiring first, you may not want to wait.
In that case, you are allowed to claim monthly benefits on your own record and then upgrade to a spousal benefit once your spouse starts collecting Social Security. But in that situation, Social Security will simply bump you up to your higher benefit amount each month. You won't collect two sets of benefits.
So for example, let's say your full retirement age is 67 and your spouse hasn't yet claimed Social Security. You could take your own monthly $1,400 benefit at that time. If, a year later, your spouse decides to file for Social Security, you can switch over to spousal benefits for an extra $100 per month. Usually, that switch will happen automatically. But sometimes there are glitches. So if you're entitled to be bumped up to a higher benefit once your spouse claims Social Security and it doesn't happen, contact the Social Security Administration.
Know the rules
Social Security is a complex program, so it's important to understand how it works especially if you're someone who may be entitled to both a personal benefit and a spousal benefit. One additional thing you should know is that while delaying your own filing past full retirement age will result in a boosted benefit, spousal benefits are not eligible for a similar increase. The most you can get is 50% of your spouse's monthly payday. So be sure to keep that point in mind as you make your filing decision.
Also, if you and your spouse are both eligible for Social Security individually, talk through a filing strategy together. This is a good thing to do whether you think you'll switch over to a spousal benefit at some point in time or not.
