Married couples often benefit from dual incomes, which makes saving for retirement easier than some single adults find it. Yet most married couples still count upon Social Security benefits for a good chunk of their monthly income.
The average couple got about $3,089 per month in January 2025. However, how much you'll receive depends on several factors, including each person's income history. How well they understand Social Security's rules also matters.
Here are three little-known rules you can't afford to overlook if you're trying to maximize your benefits.
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1. There's a one-year marriage requirement for spousal benefits
Most people think you automatically become eligible for Social Security spousal benefits upon getting married, but this isn't always true. There's usually a one-year waiting period before you become eligible to claim benefits on your partner's work record, though there are a couple of exceptions.
You may become eligible for spousal benefits immediately upon getting married if you're the parent of your new spouse's child, or if you were already eligible for Social Security benefits in the month before the month you got married. If neither of those apply to you, you cannot claim spousal benefits until you've reached your first anniversary. However, you may still claim your own retirement benefits if you qualify for them, as long as you're at least 62.
This won't be an issue for most people, as the majority of marriages occur before either participant is old enough to claim Social Security retirement benefits. But if you marry in your 60s or 70s, be prepared for the fact that your partner may not be able to claim on your work record right away.
2. You generally get the larger of your own retirement benefit or your spousal benefit
Your Social Security retirement benefit is based on your work history. Higher earnings throughout your career lead to a larger benefit.
But your claiming age matters too. You have a full retirement age (FRA) based on your birth year. This is somewhere between 66 and 67 for today's workers. Claiming early reduces your benefits by five-ninths of 1% per month for up to 36 months, and then five-twelfths of 1% per month thereafter. You can also delay benefits past your FRA to grow your checks by two-thirds of 1% per month until you reach 70.
Spousal benefits are worth up to one-half of what your partner qualifies for at their FRA. You can claim these benefits early, but you lose 25/36th of 1% per month for up to 36 months and five-twelfths of 1% per month thereafter. There's also no delayed retirement credit for applying for spousal benefits after your FRA.
The Social Security Administration generally pays you the larger of your own retirement benefit or your spousal benefit, so you don't have to calculate this yourself. However, you cannot claim a spousal benefit until your partner has already applied.
If you sign up for Social Security first and your spouse applies later, you may have to reach out to the Social Security Administration to check whether switching to a spousal benefit would give you more money. You can do this via phone or email or by scheduling an appointment at your local Social Security office.
3. Claiming Social Security early reduces your spouse's survivor benefit
Spouses are entitled to survivors benefits when their partner passes away. This is up to 100% of what the deceased person was eligible for or had been receiving at the time of their death. Note that this isn't the same as 100% of their benefit at FRA. This means that if the deceased retiree applied for Social Security before their FRA, they also permanently reduced their partner's survivors benefit. The spouse could further reduce this by signing up early themselves.
This doesn't mean applying for Social Security is always a bad idea. If you're struggling financially and need your checks to keep up with your bills, it could still be worth it. But if you don't need your checks and you have a short life expectancy, you may want to consider skipping Social Security entirely so your spouse can qualify for a larger survivors benefit after you pass away.
It's a good idea for all married couples to talk over a Social Security claiming strategy, even if they're years away from signing up. You can change your plans if need be, but having a target in mind can help you figure out how much you need to save for retirement on your own.
