Social Security is the cornerstone of many retirees' budgets. Indeed, 60% of retirees said their monthly checks are a major source of income for their household, and another 28% said it's a smaller source, according to the most recent iteration of an annual Gallup poll.
Retirees looking to make the most of the government program have to weigh carefully when to claim Social Security. The formula is fairly straightforward for retirees without a partner: Wait as long as you can before claiming benefits. But when you retire with a spouse, the algebra turns into advanced calculus, and your claiming decision can become a lot more complex if you want to make the most of the program for the entire household.
On top of that, there are several important rules you need to consider, many of which can easily go overlooked. To help you out, here are three little-known Social Security rules all married retirees should know.
1. Your earnings can impact your spouse's benefits, but not in the way you think
Many people are familiar with spousal benefits, where your spouse can claim benefits based on your earnings record. That can be a great benefit for low-earning partners. But your earnings could also impact your spouse's benefits negatively.
If you continue to work while your spouse collects Social Security, they may see a deduction in their benefits due to the retirement earnings test. The retirement earnings test applies to anyone collecting benefits before reaching their full retirement age. If they earn over a certain amount in wages, the Social Security Administration will reduce their benefits check by $1 for every $2 earned above that threshold. (There's a higher threshold in the year you reach full retirement age, and the reduction is just $1 for every $3 above it.)
For 2025, the earnings threshold is $23,400 ($62,160 if you reach full retirement age this year). If you're collecting Social Security while still working, you could see a reduction in your own benefits if you earn over that amount. But if your spouse is also collecting benefits based on your earnings record (spousal benefits), they'll also see a reduction in benefits even if they're not working. (Note: They won't see a reduction if they claim their individual benefit.)
Once you reach full retirement age, the Social Security Administration will adjust your benefit for any previous reduction in benefits due to the earnings test. For each month's worth of benefits reduced, it'll adjust your new benefit to reflect the value you'd receive if you had delayed your application by one additional month.
2. You can't claim spousal benefits until your spouse claims retirement benefits
One of the biggest hurdles to collecting spousal benefits is that you can only collect those benefits if your spouse is actively receiving Social Security as well. That can be challenging for an older, lower-earning spouse.
Spousal benefits can be worth up to half of your partner's primary insurance amount. That's the amount they'd receive if they claimed the month they reach full retirement age. The Social Security Administration will reduce your spousal benefits if you claim Social Security before you reach your own full retirement age. This applies even if you start with your personal benefits and later switch to spousal benefits.
Unlike personal benefits, however, spousal benefits reach their maximum value at full retirement age. That means that an older spouse planning to use spousal benefits could be waiting a long time for a younger spouse to start taking their Social Security.
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3. Claiming early will impact your spouse's survivor benefit
If you're the high-earning spouse, claiming Social Security at any age before 70 will reduce the amount your partner could receive in survivor benefits if you happen to pass away before them.
Survivor benefits are equal to the amount the deceased spouse was receiving from Social Security before passing away. (If the deceased spouse hadn't started Social Security, the benefit is equal to their primary insurance amount or the amount they would have received if they started Social Security the month they passed away, whichever's greater.) As a result, many households try to ensure the higher-earning spouse waits until age 70 before claiming Social Security.
Unlike spousal benefits, claiming your personal benefit or spousal benefits won't impact the value of your survivor benefits. So even if the lower-earning spouse claimed personal or spousal benefits early, they can still receive their full survivor benefit as long as they wait until their full retirement age to claim it.
Those rules lead many couples to adopt a strategy of the lower-earning spouse claiming benefits as soon as they become eligible, and the higher-earning spouse waiting until 70.
