Can I Get Spousal Benefits & Wait Until 67 For My Own?

Social Security offers various benefits, including spousal benefits, which can be a valuable income source in retirement. Understanding how these benefits work with your own retirement benefits is important for financial planning. This involves navigating eligibility criteria and strategies to maximize lifetime income. The decision of when and how to claim benefits is unique to each person, aiming to optimize financial security.

Eligibility for Spousal Benefits

Spousal benefits are available to individuals married to, or divorced from, someone receiving Social Security retirement or disability benefits. To qualify, a current spouse must have been married for at least one year. If divorced, the marriage must have lasted at least 10 years, and the individual must be unmarried at application. Claimants must be at least 62, unless caring for the primary earner’s child under 16 or disabled.

The primary earner must have filed for their own benefits for the other spouse to claim spousal benefits. The maximum spousal benefit is 50% of the primary earner’s full retirement age (FRA) benefit. This amount is based on the primary earner’s FRA benefit, regardless of when they claimed.

“Deemed filing” means that when you apply for your own or spousal benefits, you are considered to have applied for both if eligible. Social Security pays the higher amount. This rule prevents claiming only spousal benefits while your own grows, and it applies to individuals born on or after January 2, 1954.

The Strategy of Claiming Spousal Benefits While Delaying Your Own

For those born before January 2, 1954, a strategy known as “restricted application” or “file and restrict” allowed individuals to claim only spousal benefits at their Full Retirement Age (FRA). This enabled their own Social Security retirement benefit to continue growing through Delayed Retirement Credits until age 70. The spouse or ex-spouse whose record the claim was based on must have already filed for their own benefits.

For individuals born on or after January 2, 1954, “file and restrict” is not available due to deemed filing. When these individuals apply for any Social Security benefit, they are automatically considered for all eligible benefits. Social Security pays the higher of their own retirement benefit or the spousal benefit. This means they cannot claim only spousal benefits to allow their own benefit to accrue Delayed Retirement Credits.

Claiming spousal benefits before your own FRA permanently reduces the spousal benefit. The reduction depends on how early benefits are claimed. For example, claiming spousal benefits at age 62 (with an FRA of 67) can result in about a 35% reduction. The maximum spousal benefit is received when claimed at the claimant’s own FRA.

Individuals receiving spousal benefits may transition to their own retirement benefit if it eventually surpasses the spousal benefit. This occurs when their own benefit, enhanced by Delayed Retirement Credits, becomes higher. For those born after January 1, 1954, if their spousal benefit is initially higher, they receive that amount while their own benefit grows until they claim it or reach age 70. Social Security automatically adjusts the benefit to the higher available amount.

Increasing Your Own Social Security Benefit by Waiting

The Full Retirement Age (FRA) is the age at which an individual is eligible to receive 100% of their Social Security retirement benefit. The FRA varies by birth year; for those born in 1960 or later, it is age 67.

Delayed Retirement Credits (DRCs) incentivize postponing claiming your own Social Security benefits past FRA. For each month you delay claiming benefits past your FRA, up to age 70, your monthly benefit increases. For those born in 1943 or later, this increase is 8% per year. Delaying benefits from FRA (age 67) to age 70 can result in a permanent 24% increase.

Claiming benefits before FRA results in a permanent reduction. For example, claiming at age 62 (with an FRA of 67) can reduce the monthly benefit by up to 30%. Delaying benefits provides a higher monthly payment for life. Credits stop accruing at age 70, so there is no incentive to delay claiming beyond that age.

Factors to Consider When Applying

If you apply for Social Security benefits while still working, the earnings test may reduce your amount. If you claim benefits before your Full Retirement Age (FRA) and your earnings exceed limits, benefits may be temporarily reduced. For 2025, if collecting before FRA, $1 in benefits is withheld for every $2 earned above $23,400 annually. In the year you reach FRA, $1 is withheld for every $3 earned above $62,160, but only for earnings before your FRA month.

Once you reach FRA, the earnings test no longer applies, and there is no limit on how much you can earn without affecting your Social Security benefits. Any withheld benefits are not lost; they are factored into a recalculation at FRA, leading to higher future monthly payments.

Divorced individuals can claim spousal benefits on a former spouse’s record if the marriage lasted at least 10 years, the claimant is unmarried, and is at least 62. The former spouse must be eligible for Social Security retirement or disability benefits, but does not need to be collecting them if the divorce occurred at least two years prior. Claiming divorced spousal benefits does not affect the former spouse’s benefits or their current spouse’s benefits.

It is advisable to apply approximately three months before your desired benefit start date. Applications can be submitted online, by phone, or in person at a local Social Security office. Be prepared to provide documents such as a birth certificate, Social Security card, proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful alien status, W-2 forms or self-employment tax returns from the previous year, and bank account information for direct deposit. For spousal benefits, a marriage certificate is required, and for divorced spousal benefits, divorce papers are needed.