When it comes to retirement planning, being married has its advantages, such as having another person who can help you save for your goals. But it brings challenges, too. You're no longer planning for just yourself. You also have to think about what your partner wants, and sometimes that requires compromise.
Planning for Social Security as a couple has pros and cons as well. You'll likely have two checks to count on in retirement. But you also have to navigate decisions around two people's benefits. The right strategy can make this easier and help you maximize your household income.
Here are three things all married couples should try to squeeze as much money from the program as possible.
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1. Choose the right claiming age for each person
You can sign up for Social Security benefits at any time after you turn 62. However, you must wait until your full retirement age (FRA) if you want to claim the full benefit you've earned based on your work history. Most people today have an FRA of 67.
Signing up early reduces your checks, while delaying Social Security beyond your FRA increases your retirement benefits until you qualify for your largest checks at 70. Signing up at that time often helps people secure their largest lifetime benefit, but this isn't always the case. It depends on your finances and life expectancy.
If you cannot afford to delay Social Security, signing up early might be your best option. Signing up early can also make sense for lower earners in couples with a high income disparity. The lower earner can claim benefits to help cover the couple's expenses, while the higher earner delays benefits until they're eligible for larger checks. Then, when the higher earner signs up, the lower earner can apply for a spousal benefit, which we'll talk about more below.
Those with short life expectancies can also benefit from signing up early. However, there's a catch here. Signing up early also permanently reduces the survivor's benefit your spouse is eligible for after you die. So, if you don't need your checks, you might prefer not to claim them at all so your spouse can get larger checks once you're gone.
2. Switch to a spousal benefit if it's worth more than what you're currently receiving
Spousal Social Security benefits are available to the spouses of workers who qualify for Social Security retirement benefits, even if the spouse never worked. At your FRA, your spousal benefit would be worth one-half of what your partner is entitled to at their FRA.
One important rule about spousal benefits is that you may only claim them once your partner has signed up. So, in our previous example of a couple where one spouse earned considerably more than the other, the lower-earning spouse won't be eligible to claim a spousal benefit until the higher-earning spouse applies for Social Security.
When this happens, the lower-earning spouse can switch to a spousal benefit if it's worth more than their retirement benefit. However, they may need to contact the Social Security Administration to request the change. It's important not to forget about this if you think your spousal benefit will be larger than your retirement benefit, or you could miss out on extra cash.
3. Claim benefits for any dependents in the household
Married couples eligible for Social Security retirement or spousal benefits and who are caring for a child under 18 (or up to 19 if the child is still enrolled in secondary school) or a child of any age who was disabled before 22 can claim dependent benefits on the child's behalf. This can significantly increase your household benefits. However, in the case of benefits for minor children, these will stop once the child turns 18 or 19 unless they're disabled.
It's also worth noting that if one spouse passes away, the other spouse may be able to claim a survivor benefit for any minor or disabled children as well as for themselves. You'll need to provide proof of your spouse's death and your children's relationship to your spouse to take advantage of these benefits.
If you have any questions about your Social Security benefits, you can reach out to the Social Security Administration. Or you could try creating a my Social Security account, which features a tool that can help you estimate your benefit at various claiming ages and calculate spousal benefits as well.
