Social Security is a vital source of retirement income for most women.  For this reason, it is important to understand how the spousal do good works and how it can affect the amount of Social Security income yous receive.

As a spouse, y'all can claim a Social Security benefit based on your own earnings record, or collect a spousal benefit in the amount of l% of your spouse's Social Security benefit, only non both.  You are automatically entitled to receive whichever do good provides you the college monthly amount.  In gild to qualify for Social Security spousal benefits, you must be at least 62 years old and your spouse must also exist collecting his or her ain benefits.  Additionally, if you are the higher earner, your spouse can apply to collect spousal benefits based on your piece of work record.  It is of import to notation that claiming a spousal benefit does non touch on the benefit corporeality received by the worker whose earning tape is being used.

Taking Benefits Early

If your spouse takes Social Security before his total retirement age, his or her monthly benefits will be reduced.  Your spousal benefits in turn will be calculated based on this reduced amount, thereby reducing your monthly benefits.  If your spouse takes Social Security early, and you also take Social Security early on, you will be significantly reducing the amount of benefits that may be paid out over your lifetime.  This is because the earlier you accept your benefits before your full retirement historic period, the more than your benefits are reduced.  For example, if your full retirement age were 66, then the following reductions to benefits would apply:

  • At age 65, you would receive 45.8% of your spouse's benefit.
  • At age 64, you would receive 41.7% of your spouse'southward do good.
  • At age 63, you would receive 37.5% of your spouse'due south do good.
  • At historic period 62, y'all would receive 35% of your spouse's benefit.

Recent Changes to Claiming Strategies that Affect Spousal Benefits

In 2016, changes were made to Social Security that essentially concluded the selection to "file and suspend"—a strategy that allowed one spouse (the higher earner) to file for a retirement benefit at full retirement age and suspend (delay) receiving the benefit.  By filing for the benefit, the lower-earning spouse could then claim a spousal benefit.  The new laws also ended the ability to file a "restricted application" for spouse'southward benefits. This strategy applied to workers who reached full retirement age, and whose spouse was already receiving worker benefits. This allowed workers to file only for their spousal benefit while delaying their own retirement benefits to historic period 70 in order to accumulate delayed retirement credits and maximize benefits.  This strategy was normally applied if the worker delaying retirement benefits would accept a college do good based on their own work tape. In other words, they could receive their spousal do good while waiting for their own benefit to abound. These options are no longer available for anyone who turned 66 subsequently May 1, 2016.  Also important to note: In that location were no changes to survivor benefit rules. Widows or widowers tin can still claim a survivor'south do good as early as age sixty before they claim their own worker benefit. Learn more than most these changes in WISER's fact sheet, Changes to Social Security Claiming Strategies .

Divorced Spouses

You can receive benefits every bit a divorced spouse on your ex-spouse'southward Social Security tape, fifty-fifty if they remarried and their current spouse is collecting benefits based on their record.  However, there are a few eligibility requirements:

  • You must take been married to your ex-spouse for at least 10 years.
  • You lot must be at least 62 years old. Yet, if your ex-spouse is deceased and you are currently unmarried, yous may collect benefits as early on as historic period sixty as a surviving divorced spouse.  If he or she is deceased and y'all are disabled, you can collect benefits equally early every bit historic period 50.
  • Your ex-spouse must be eligible for benefits and currently receiving benefits for you to qualify for spousal benefits. If you were born subsequently January anest, 1954, yous will exist required to claim all benefits at one time (both spousal and retirement) and receive whichever is higher.
  • If you were born before January ii, 1954, you lot may nonetheless collect on an ex-spouse'southward tape get-go while allowing your ain benefits to abound and so take your own benefits at age 70.
  • If your ex has reached retirement age and is eligible to receive retirement benefits only has not yet applied, y'all can nevertheless apply for ex-spousal benefits if you lot take been divorced for at least 2 years.
  • You must not exist currently married. If you remarried and divorced your 2d spouse, you can claim benefits from either your first or your second spouse as long equally each marriage lasted at least 10 years.

Surviving Spouses

  • If your spouse passes away, yous can collect survivor'due south benefits as early on as age 60. You are eligible to receive benefits based on his or her full Social Security benefit amount (but notation that that amount will notwithstanding be reduced if you claim the benefits earlier your own full retirement age.)
  • If your ex-spouse is deceased and you remarry earlier age 60 (or fifty if you are disabled), you lot cannot receive survivor's benefits unless the latter wedlock ends (whether information technology exist through death, divorce, or annulment). If you remarry after historic period 60, you can continue to receive benefits on your onetime spouse's Social Security record.  However, if your current hubby is besides a Social Security beneficiary and you would receive a larger do good from your second spouse'south work record than you would from your deceased spouse's record, you should apply for spousal benefits on your current spouse's record.  You cannot receive both benefits.
  • Regardless of your age or marital status, if y'all are caring for your deceased spouse'south kid or children, you would be eligible to receive benefits for raising them until they are 16 years sometime. These children can and then go along to receive benefits based on your spouse'due south work record until they are 18 or 19, as long as they are single.  If a child is withal a full-time educatee (no higher grade than grade 12) when they turn 18, they tin can keep to receive benefits until ii months later on they turn 19 or until they graduate, whichever comes first.  Children who are disabled can besides go on to receive benefits after they turn eighteen years old.

Applying for Benefits

You can apply for benefits online by going to ssa.gov.  You tin also apply over the phone by calling 1-800-772-1213, or apply in person by visiting your local Social Security part.

To make the awarding procedure easier, yous should know your spouse'southward (or ex-spouse's) date of nascence and Social Security number.  You may also be asked to provide certain documents as proof of eligibility, such as your birth document or other proof of birth, naturalization papers, W-ii forms, a marriage document, or divorce papers if you're applying as a divorced spouse.

Finally, brainwash yourself almost your options and what benefits you lot are eligible for before you lot merits. Unfortunately, there are cases where applicants receive misinformation from Social Security representatives; it is a complicated system and every person's situation is unique.  Larn as much as you tin to maximize your do good.

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