If you've ever been married, there's a chance you could qualify for Social Security spousal benefits. When you get spousal benefits, Social Security bases your check on the work history of a current or former spouse, rather than your own.
Social Security will generally give you whichever is larger: your own benefit or a spousal benefit, but not both. But if you have a relatively limited work history or your spouse earns a lot more than you do, spousal benefits could give your Social Security a boost. Here are five things you need to know about spousal benefits.
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1. You can qualify even if you're divorced
If you're married, you can claim spousal benefits starting at age 62 as long as your spouse is already receiving benefits. But you may be eligible for spousal benefits even if your marriage didn't last.
If you're divorced but your marriage lasted at least 10 years, you can still qualify for spousal benefits based on your ex's record if you're unmarried and you've been divorced for at least two years. Your ex-spouse doesn't need to be receiving Social Security for you to receive that person's benefit, but you'll both need to have reached the minimum claiming age of 62.
2. You're capped at 50% of their benefit
Even if your spouse earns significantly more than you do, you may still get more money out of Social Security if you take your own benefit instead of a spousal benefit. That's because the maximum spousal benefit is 50% of the working spouse's primary insurance amount. As of March 2024, the average monthly spousal benefit was just $911, compared with $1,913 for the average retired worker.
Spouses who claim early receive an even smaller benefit. For example, if you start Social Security as soon as you're eligible at age 62, you'd only receive 32.5% of your spouse's or ex-spouse's full retirement amount.
3. The benefit maxes out at age 67
When you claim a benefit based on your own work record, Social Security allows you to earn delayed retirement credits of 8% for each year you hold out beyond your full retirement age until you reach the maximum benefit at age 70. But that's not the case for spousal benefits. If you take spousal benefits, your benefit maxes out at full retirement age, which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.
4. Claiming spousal benefit doesn't affect your spouse or ex-spouse
Claiming spousal benefits won't reduce the amount of money your spouse or ex-spouse receives from Social Security. Your benefit is simply calculated based on your current or former spouse's work record, rather than your own.
5. You can no longer switch from spousal to retirement benefits
In the past, couples often used a strategy where one spouse started claiming spousal benefits early by filing a restricted application. Then, they'd switch to their own higher retirement benefit later on, often after they'd accrued delayed retirement credits.
But this is no longer an option. In 2015, Congress changed the law to phase out restricted applications. If you file for spousal benefits, you're now assumed to be filing for any benefits you're eligible for, including retirement and spousal benefits. Social Security will give you the biggest benefit you qualify for. This is known as the deemed filing rule.
When Congress changed the law, they allowed people born before Jan. 2, 1954 to continue using the restricted application strategy. But since everyone in this group is now at least 70 as of early 2024, the window for using this approach has largely closed.
There are two exceptions, though: If you're receiving spousal benefits because you're caring for your spouse's child, you can switch to retirement benefits later on. The same goes for if you're receiving spousal benefits but you qualify for disability. The deemed filing rule also doesn't apply to survivor benefits, which are paid based on a deceased worker's earnings record.
Spousal benefits can be a lifeline to people who had limited earnings. But if you worked for a long time, you may get more money through your own retirement benefit than you would through spousal benefits.
Spousal benefits account for less than 3% of Social Security benefits overall. The likely reason is that given the 50% maximum cap, most people who worked get more money by claiming their own benefit.
