Understanding Spouse’s Benefits
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: May 25, 2021
Marriage is a cultural institution that exists all over the world. Having a partner means sharing many things including a home and other property. Understanding how your future retirement might affect your spouse is important. When you’re planning for your fun and vibrant golden years, here are a few things to remember:
Your full spouse’s benefit could be up to 50 percent of your spouse’s full retirement age amount if you are full retirement age when you take it. If you qualify for your own retirement benefit and a spouse’s benefit, we always pay your own benefit first. You cannot receive spouse’s benefits unless your spouse is receiving his or her retirement benefits (except for divorced spouses). If you took your reduced retirement first while waiting for your spouse to reach retirement age, when you add spouse’s benefits later, your own retirement portion remains reduced which causes the total retirement and spouses benefit together to total less than 50 percent of the worker’s amount. You can find out more on our website.
On the other hand, if your spouse’s retirement benefit is higher than your retirement benefit, and he or she chooses to take reduced benefits and dies first, your survivor benefit will be reduced, but may be higher than what your spouse received.
If the deceased worker started receiving reduced retirement benefits before their full retirement age, a special rule called the retirement insurance benefit limit may apply to the surviving spouse. The retirement insurance benefit limit is the maximum survivor benefit you may receive. Generally, the limit is the higher of:
- The reduced monthly retirement benefit to which the deceased spouse would have been entitled if they had lived, or
- 82.5 percent of the unreduced deceased spouse’s monthly benefit if they had started receiving benefits at their full retirement age (rather than choosing to receive a reduced retirement benefit early).
Knowing how your finances affect your spouse’s can help both of you avoid future impacts on your incomes. When it comes to information, we have over 80 years of experience. Access a wealth of useful information by visiting our benefits planners.
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Tags: retirement, Social Security benefits
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Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
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LYNN S.
what if you divorced many years ago but have been together for 20 years since…..
Ann C.
Hi, Lynn. Thanks for your question. To be eligible for divorced spouse benefits, you had to be married to your former spouse for at least 10 years, and you cannot be eligible for a higher benefit on your own record. For more information on how to qualify for divorced spouse benefits, visit our Benefits Planner: If You Are Divorced. Hope this helps!
John
My spouse (wife) passed away July 30, 2018. Am I (husband) entitiiled to any/partial benefits from her social security account.
Ann C.
Hi, John. We are sorry about your loss. You could be eligible for benefits based on your wife’s earnings. You can receive full benefits at full retirement age for survivors or reduced benefits as early as age 60. If you are disabled, you could begin receiving benefits as early as age 50 if the disability started before or within 7 years of your wife’s death. For additional information, visit our Benefits Planner: If You Are The Survivor web page. We hope this helps.
DONENE M.
CAN MY EX HUSBAND RECIEVE MY SS BENEFITS
IF MY DIVORCE PAPERS SAY WE DON’T SHARE IN
RETIREMENT?
Ricky S.
I would like to thank the SSA and all the replies . Reading was educational and enlightening. On final note if anyone doesn’t understand the info contact a SSA rep.
Ghislaine I.
What happened if you’re retired your husband died in you receiving social security fro your decied husband you remarried you can still receiving your husband social security benefits
Ann C.
Hi, Ghislane. If you remarry before you reach age 60 (age 50 if disabled), you cannot receive benefits as a surviving spouse while you are married. If you remarry after you reach age 60 (age 50 if disabled), you will continue to qualify for benefits on your deceased spouse’s Social Security record. If your new spouse is a Social Security beneficiary, you may want to apply for spouse’s benefits on that record. If that amount is higher, you may be entitled to the higher amount, based on both records. For more information on remarrying and its effect on your survivor benefits, please visit our Survivors Benefit Planner. We hope this helps.
Richard G.
I don’t know who wrote this but it is simply unintelligible. It comes across as if someone had arbitrarily cut and pasted pieces and parts of administrative instruction and the dumped them on the page and hoped for the best.
Fail!
Charles J.
My wife age74 died in March 2018…she was receiving 50% of mind…am entitled to her social security in anyway??
Ann C.
Hi, Charles. We are sorry for your loss. The amount of your widower’s benefit is based on several factors, including: the earnings of your wife, when she started receiving her benefits, your age, and the amount of your own retirement benefit. We compare your own benefit with your potential survivor benefit. If your survivor benefit would be higher than your own current retirement benefit, you would be eligible for survivor benefits. You can also learn more information on our Survivors Benefits web page. You can also visit our page, Benefits Planner: If You Are The Survivor, at http://ow.ly/NKlt30dKCjT for more information. For specific questions about your case, your can contact us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. We hope this helps!
Evelyn V.
What if the husband is unemployed, will he can still avail the 50% benefit from my retirement?
Ann C.
Hi, Evelyn. If he is not working or working under the annual earnings limit, he may be eligible. Keep in mind, his benefit as a spouse can be equal to one-half of your full retirement amount only if he starts receiving those benefits at his full retirement age. If a person begins to receive benefits at age 62 or prior to their full retirement age, their benefits are reduced. The reduction factors are permanently applied to all of the benefits the person may qualify for once they opt to start benefits at age 62 or at any time prior to their full retirement age. He may still be eligible to collect reduced benefits on your record. Remember, if he qualifies for his own retirement benefits and for benefits as a spouse, we always pay his own benefits first. If his benefits as a spouse are higher than his own retirement benefits, he will get a combination of benefits equaling the higher spouse benefit. See our Retirement Planner: Benefits For Your Spouse for more information. For specific questions about his case, he can contact his local office or he may call our toll-free telephone number at 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and ask a representative to assist him. We hope this helps.
Rodney a.
I am 63,ive been getting benifits since 1980.IM disabled.my wife gets socail security and shes 4 months younger than me.but i get a lot more than my wife,but when i die im woried,her little check wont take care of her.will she or can she drop her socail security and draw mine.?
Vonda V.
Hi Rodney, thank you for your question. Your wife’s survivor amount would be based on your earnings. The more you paid into Social Security, the higher her benefit will be. If you are already receiving benefits when you die, survivors benefits are based on that amount. The percentage of that amount that your wife would receive depends on how old she is when she files as a widow. We are only going to pay the highest benefit amount from either record, meaning she won’t get both retirement and widows benefits but the higher of the two.
Widows benefit are payable as early as age 60 (for a reduced benefit) or a full widowers benefit at full retirement age or older.
Use our Survivors Planner to look at how your family members are protected if you die.
Chris T.
This article is at best confusing and does not provide a clear picture of “Understanding Spouse’s benefits”. I/we came away from this article with more questions and confusion than answers.
now Searching for a more comprehensive and straight-forward article or chart that allows us to clearly navigate the SS path. When will the GOV learn to provide information in clear, concise and easily consumable language. Knowing is one thing, teaching and communicating what you know is an entirely different art form.