Can My Wife Claim at 62 and Then Switch to a Spousal Benefit?

Social Security is a key component of financial planning for many retired couples, providing income that complements other savings. Understanding the various benefits and claiming rules is important for retirement preparation. For married individuals, Social Security offers both individual retirement benefits based on one’s work history and potential spousal benefits. Effectively navigating these options can significantly impact a household’s total income throughout retirement.

Claiming Your Own Social Security Benefit

An individual’s Social Security retirement benefit is primarily determined by their work history and Full Retirement Age (FRA). Your FRA is the age you are eligible to receive 100% of your primary insurance amount (PIA), calculated based on your lifetime earnings. For individuals born in 1960 or later, FRA is 67; for those born earlier, it’s between 66 and 67. The Social Security Administration (SSA) calculates your PIA using your 35 highest-earning years, adjusted for inflation.

While you can begin receiving retirement benefits as early as age 62, claiming before your FRA results in a permanent reduction of your monthly payment. For someone with an FRA of 67, claiming at age 62 means a permanent 30% reduction from their PIA.

If you claim benefits before your FRA and continue to work, your benefits may be subject to the Social Security earnings test. For 2025, if you are under your FRA for the entire year, you can earn up to $23,400 annually without your benefits being affected. If your earnings exceed this limit, $1 in benefits will be withheld for every $2 you earn above the threshold. In the year you reach your FRA, a higher annual limit of $62,160 applies, and $1 in benefits is withheld for every $3 earned above this limit, but only for months before your FRA. Once you reach your FRA, the earnings test no longer applies, and you can earn any amount without your Social Security benefits being reduced.

Understanding Spousal Social Security Benefits

Spousal Social Security benefits are available to eligible spouses based on their partner’s work record. To qualify, you must generally have been married to the worker for at least one continuous year, and the worker must already be receiving their own retirement or disability benefits. A spousal benefit can provide up to 50% of the higher-earning spouse’s primary insurance amount (PIA), which is the maximum available if the spouse claims at their own Full Retirement Age.

Like individual retirement benefits, spousal benefits are reduced if claimed before the spouse’s own Full Retirement Age. For instance, if a spouse with an FRA of 67 claims spousal benefits at age 62, their benefit could be reduced to as little as 32.5% of the higher-earning spouse’s PIA. Claiming a spousal benefit does not reduce the primary earner’s own Social Security benefit.

The availability and amount of spousal benefits are determined independently of the primary earner’s decision to claim early or late. A spouse can receive benefits based on their partner’s record even with little to no work history of their own. The Social Security Administration will evaluate both your own potential benefit and any spousal benefit you are eligible for, paying the higher of the two amounts.

How Own and Spousal Benefits Interact

The interaction between claiming your own Social Security benefit and a spousal benefit is governed by “deemed filing” for most current retirees. If you were born on or after January 2, 1954, and apply for any Social Security retirement or spousal benefit before your Full Retirement Age, you are generally deemed to have applied for all eligible benefits. The Social Security Administration will then pay you the higher of your own reduced retirement benefit or the reduced spousal benefit. This means you cannot claim one type of benefit early and then switch to an unreduced version of the other later.

For example, if you claim your own retirement benefit at age 62, it will be permanently reduced. If you are also eligible for a spousal benefit, the SSA will automatically calculate both your reduced individual benefit and your reduced spousal benefit. You will then receive the higher of these two reduced amounts. If the spousal benefit is higher, you will receive your own reduced benefit plus a “top-up” to reach the higher, but still reduced, spousal amount.

The reduction for claiming benefits early applies to both your own retirement benefit and any spousal benefit you might receive. This means “switching” to an unreduced spousal benefit after claiming your own at age 62 is not applicable for those subject to deemed filing. The deemed filing rule ensures that once an individual claims benefits before their FRA, any benefit received, whether their own or spousal, will be subject to permanent reduction.

Coordinated Claiming Strategies

Couples can coordinate their Social Security claiming decisions to potentially maximize combined household benefits over their lifetimes. One strategy involves the higher-earning spouse delaying their claim beyond their Full Retirement Age, up to age 70. For each year benefits are delayed past FRA, their own retirement benefit increases by 8% per year as a delayed retirement credit. This increases the higher earner’s monthly payment and potentially increases the maximum available spousal benefit for the lower-earning spouse, as spousal benefits are based on the higher earner’s PIA at FRA.

Deciding when to claim involves a trade-off between receiving benefits earlier, at a permanently reduced rate, versus waiting for a higher monthly payment. Couples should consider their individual financial circumstances, health status, and life expectancies when making these choices. For instance, if one spouse has a shorter life expectancy, claiming earlier might be more advantageous, while delaying could benefit a couple expecting to live long lives.

A lower-earning spouse might consider waiting until their own Full Retirement Age to claim a spousal benefit to avoid the reduction applied to early claims. While spousal benefits do not grow beyond 50% of the higher earner’s PIA at their FRA, waiting until one’s own FRA ensures the maximum possible spousal benefit is received without reduction. Analyzing different claiming ages for both spouses can reveal the strategy that yields the greatest total income for the household over their expected retirement period.