Spousal and survivor Social Security benefits

For a married couple, Social Security isn't two separate decisions. Each spouse's claiming age changes what the other can receive, both while you're both alive and after one of you dies. Getting the combination right can be worth tens of thousands of dollars over a retirement.

This guide explains the spousal benefit and the survivor benefit, then works through a couple's choices. For the basics of claiming ages, see when to claim Social Security.

The spousal benefit

A spouse can receive a benefit based on the other spouse's work record. At the spouse's full retirement age, the spousal benefit is up to 50% of the worker's primary insurance amount (PIA). The PIA is the worker's benefit at full retirement age, before any early or late adjustment.

You don't get your own benefit and a full spousal benefit. Social Security pays your own benefit first. If 50% of your spouse's PIA is larger, it adds the difference.

Four rules shape the spousal benefit:

1. The worker must have filed. You can't receive a spousal benefit until your spouse has claimed their own.
2. Claiming early reduces it. The reduction is 25/36 of 1% per month for the first 36 months, 5/12 of 1% per additional month.
3. Waiting past full retirement age doesn't raise it. Delayed retirement credits don't apply to spousal benefits.
4. You file for both at once. For anyone born in 1954 or later, applying for one benefit counts as applying for both. You can't take the spousal benefit first and switch to your own later.

You generally need to have been married for at least a year to receive a spousal benefit.

The survivor benefit

When one spouse dies, the survivor keeps the larger of the two checks. The smaller one stops. A household that had two benefits now has one.

The survivor benefit is based on what the deceased spouse was receiving, or was entitled to:

• At the survivor's full retirement age, the survivor receives 100% of the deceased's benefit, including any delayed retirement credits.
• Earlier, the survivor can claim from age 60, at a reduced rate starting at 71.5%.
• If the deceased claimed early, the survivor benefit is limited to the larger of the deceased's reduced benefit and 82.5% of the deceased's PIA.

Survivors have one flexibility spouses don't. A survivor can take the survivor benefit first and switch to their own retirement benefit later, or the reverse. Someone widowed at 60 might take a reduced survivor benefit now and their own benefit, grown by delayed credits, at 70.

Survivor benefits generally need at least nine months of marriage. Remarrying before 60 usually ends them. Remarrying at 60 or later doesn't.

A worked example

Ana and Ben were both born in 1964, so their full retirement age is 67. Ana's PIA is $2,800 a month. Ben's is $1,000. Amounts are in today's dollars.

While both are alive

Ben's spousal benefit at full retirement age would be 50% of $2,800, or $1,400. That's $400 more than his own $1,000.

Waiting past 67 raises only Ben's own part, through delayed credits. The top-up stays at $400. Either way, the top-up can't start until Ana has filed. If Ana waits to 70, Ben's top-up waits too.

After the first death

Now the bigger question: when should Ana claim? Her choice sets what Ben would live on if Ana died first.

If Ana claims at 62, the 82.5% floor lifts Ben's survivor benefit to $2,310. If she waits to 70, Ben would receive $3,472 for the rest of his life. That's $1,162 a month more than if she had claimed at 62.

If Ana dies first, the delay keeps paying off for Ben's lifetime too. That's why the higher earner's claiming age often matters more than the lower earner's. It's the benefit that lasts the longest.

Ben's own claiming age matters less

Ben's benefit disappears at the first death, whoever dies first. Claiming early costs him less over a joint lifetime. Many couples have the lower earner claim earlier and the higher earner wait.

Things that change the answer

• Health and age gap. If the higher earner is likely to die first, or is much older, delaying protects the survivor for longer.
• Cash to bridge the wait. Delaying means spending savings first. Your plan needs enough to cover the gap.
• Working while claiming early. Claiming before full retirement age while still working can mean benefits are withheld under the earnings test. Withholding on the worker's record can also reduce a spouse's benefit.
• Government pensions. Rules that reduced spousal and survivor benefits for some public pensions were repealed. If you worked in a job that didn't pay Social Security tax, check your estimate again.

How the app handles spousal and survivor benefits

For each person, the plan works out their own benefit from their earnings or their statement estimate. It applies early or late claiming, in months. For a married couple, it adds the spousal top-up once both have filed, with the early-claiming reduction. After a death, it pays the survivor the larger of the two benefits, with the reductions and the floor described above.

The Social Security explorer compares every pair of whole-year claiming ages from 62 to 70 for both of you. You can test a choice against your whole plan, including taxes and simulated markets. The plan also applies the earnings test to years you claim early while working.

The app doesn't model benefits for divorced spouses, children or the family maximum. If any apply to you, check your amounts with Social Security.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a benefit on an ex-spouse's record?

Often, if the marriage lasted at least 10 years and you haven't remarried. The app doesn't model divorced-spouse benefits, so use Social Security's own estimate.

Does a spousal benefit reduce my spouse's check?

No. Your spousal benefit doesn't reduce the worker's own benefit.

What if we both have similar earnings?

Spousal top-ups may be small or zero. The survivor question still matters. The survivor keeps the larger benefit, so delaying the larger one still helps the survivor.