Do You Qualify for Social Security Spouse’s Benefits?
Reading Time: 3 MinutesLast Updated: July 15, 2024
Social Security benefits are a crucial part of the retirement income for millions of Americans.
If you don’t have enough Social Security credits to get benefits on your own work record or your own benefit is small, you may be able to receive benefits as a spouse. Your spouse must be receiving benefits for you to get benefits on their work record. If your spouse does not receive retirement or disability, you’ll have to wait to apply on your spouse’s record.
In addition, to be eligible for spouse’s benefits, you must be one of the following:
- 62 years of age or older.
- Any age if you have a child who is younger than 16 in your care or has a disability and is entitled to benefits on your spouse’s record.
How the spouse’s benefit is determined
Your full spouse’s benefit could be up to one-half the amount your spouse is eligible to receive at their full retirement age. If you choose to receive your spouse’s benefits before you reach full retirement age, your payment will be permanently reduced.
Your spouse may have postponed or plan to postpone their retirement to increase their monthly benefit amount by earning delayed retirement credits. However, your maximum spouse’s benefit remains 50% of their full retirement age benefit, not their higher amount including delayed retirement credits. (Your benefit as a surviving spouse would be based on the higher amount.)
If you wait until you reach full retirement age to receive benefits, you’ll receive your full spouse’s benefit amount. You may also get your full spouse’s benefit if you are under full retirement age, but care for a child and one of the following applies:
- The child is younger than age 16.
- The child has a disability and is entitled to benefits on your spouse’s record.
Payments to family members do not decrease your spouse’s retirement or disability benefit.
If you get retirement and spouse’s benefits
If you’re eligible for retirement and spouse’s benefits, you must apply for both, and you’ll receive a combined benefit equaling the higher spouse’s amount.
This requirement is called “deemed filing” because when you apply for one benefit you are “deemed” to have applied for the other benefit.
If you receive retirement on your own record, we will pay that amount first. If your benefits as a spouse are higher than your own benefit, you will get a combination of benefits that equals the higher spouse’s benefit.
Consider this example: Sandy is eligible for a monthly retirement benefit of $1,000 and a spouse’s benefit of $1,250. If she waits for Social Security until her full retirement age, she will receive her own $1,000 retirement benefit. We will add $250 from her spouse’s benefit, for a total of $1,250 a month. Sandy only gets an additional spouse’s benefit because her own benefit is less than half her spouse’s full retirement age benefit.
How to apply online
Want to apply for your retirement or your spouse’s benefit or both? Are you at least 61 years and 9 months old? If you answered yes, visit our website to get started today. If you and your spouse both have a personal my Social Security account, you can view an estimate of the benefits you could receive based on your spouse’s record.
Divorced spouses can get benefits, too
Are you divorced from a marriage that lasted at least 10 years? You may be able to get benefits on your former spouse’s record. Our rules for divorced spouse’s benefits are slightly different. You can find out more by visiting our Family benefits page.
For more information about spouse’s benefits, please read our Retirement Benefits publication.
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Tags: General Information, retirement benefits, Social Security benefits
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Dawn Bystry, Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications
Deputy Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications
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Melissa
My sister’s husband was recently sent to prison for a term of 12 years. He will be 62 in November, my sister will be 63 in November. Per their agreement when they married almost 40 years ago she would be a stay at home mom and home school the children while he worked a good paying IT job. He was laid off 20 years ago and the company moved south. He stayed local and found several other jobs since then. Now he is in prison and she has not worked a day since they began having children over 35 years ago. So her skill set is outdated and she struggles with some computer based work. She’s now working as an aid at a residence home and earning just over minimum wage. She is planning to divorce but the prison issue complicates things. Can she begin to collect her half of his SS when he turns 62 next month? Am I correct in understanding he is not allowed to apply for benefits while in prison? Would his being in prison prevent her from collecting? She has spent more than half her life raising their children and now he holds the purse strings? All but one child has left home.The youngest is 20. She is now responsible for the mortgage and all the household bills and car insurance. She’s barely making it. One of his hobbies was spending their money without her knowledge and her lawyer recently found out he had spent, out or withdrew, all but $2,000 of his retirement fund. The word psychopath has been used several times to describe his behavior. What are her options?
Sandi D.
My husband has been collecting Social Security since age 67 and he is now 74. He waited until after his full retirement age to begin collecting his Social Security. I am 64 years old, still working and will not be full retirement age for Social Security until 67. My spouse will be going on Hospice. Am I entitled to any survivors benefits until I file for my own benefits at full retirement age of 67? I also plan on still working full time but not necessarily until age 67. It will all depend on my financial situation.
Brad
I am 8 years older than my spouse and plan to start drawing on benefits at age 70 (when my spouse will be 62).
Q1 – Can my spouse draw spousal benefits from that time until age 67 (full retirement age) and then switch to their own benefits?
Q2 – Can they then still be eligible for spousal death benefits later on?
marta
I am 6 years older then my husband and he plans to work 6 more years to retire at 63, but i plan to retire next year at 62. He is not going to get his benefits until he retires at age 63 6 more years so will i be able to get his benefits at 62 event though he is still working?
Veretta T.
If I am receiving retirement social security and my husband applies for ssdi or ssi will it affect my benefits?
Carol A.
I get social security since 62 now iam 71 can I get my husbands his higher
S.S.
Hi, Carol. Thanks for reading our blog and for your question. If your husbands benefits as a spouse are higher than your own retirement benefits, you may get a combination of benefits equaling the higher spouse’s amount. For more information, visit our Benefits for Spouses page. To speak with a representative about your benefit options, you can call us at 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. We hope this helps.
Michael R.
I’m receiving a a small ssdi benefit on my work record my wife still working full time at age 55 can I get a larger amount from spousal benefits on her record ? if not now when ?