MP Dunleavey is an award-winning personal finance journalist and author. For several years she was the Cost of Living columnist for The New York Times, covering real-life financial, behavioral finance, and investing issues. She was also the founding editor-in-chief of DailyWorth.com, the first financial e-newsletter for women.
As a 30+ year member of the AICPA, Nancy has experienced all facets of finance, including tax, auditing, payroll, plan benefits, and small business accounting. Her résumé includes years at KPMG International and McDonald’s Corporation. She now runs her own accounting business, serving several small clients in industries ranging from law and education to the arts.
How much can you get from a Social Security spousal benefit?
A spousal benefit can be as much as 50% of your spouseâs full retirement benefit. The exact amount depends on your age when you claim. If you file before your full retirement age, your spousal benefit is permanently reduced.
Who qualifies for Social Security spousal benefits?
You may qualify if youâre at least 62 and married for at least one year. Divorced spouses can qualify too, as long as the marriage lasted at least 10 years and they havenât remarried. Your spouse (or ex-spouse) must also be eligible for retirement benefits, and in most cases must have filed for them.
Can you collect a spousal benefit and your own benefit at the same time?
No. Social Security pays a single benefit thatâs equal to either your own benefit or your spousal amountâwhichever is higher. You wonât receive both, and older strategies such as âfile and suspendâ or switching later from a spousal benefit to your own benefit are no longer available.
If you are (or were) married, and you worked as a caregiver or part-time (or even full-time at a low salary) for most of your adult life, Social Security provides a way for you to get a little more retirement income than you might expect.
Social Security spousal benefits allow you to get a monthly check thatâs up to 50% of your spouseâs retirement benefit. If you plan ahead so that you and your spouse each maximize your benefit amounts, this provision can give your retirement income a boost.
Key Points
When you apply for Social Security, youâre entitled to an amount based on your own earnings record, or up to 50% of your spouseâs retirement benefit, whichever is larger.
To qualify for spousal benefits, you need to be at least 62 years old and married for at least a year.
Do you qualify for spousal benefits?
Starting at age 62, you qualify for spousal Social Security benefits if:
Youâve been married at least a year and your spouse or partner has filed for Social Security
So if you earned little or no incomeâperhaps because you were a full-time caregiver, or worked part-timeâthat could leave you with a pretty small monthly Social Security check.
Prenups are meant for the rich and famous, right? Not necessarily.
EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
Thatâs where the spousal benefit comes in.
When you apply for Social Security, youâll either get an amount based on your own earnings record, or up to 50% of your spouseâs retirement benefitâwhichever is larger. Your age and the age of the primary earner come into play as well. And yes, these guidelines apply to same-sex and common law marriages.
For example: Suppose your spouseâs monthly Social Security check is $1,600. Based on that, youâd be able to claim 50%, or $800, in spousal benefits. But if your own retirement benefit is higher than that amountâsay, $900 a monthâyouâd get the $900.
The average spousal benefit may increase based on the Social Security Administrationâs annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Beginning in January 2026, Social Security benefits increase by 2.8%.
A couple can plan ahead to maximize their combined benefits. Letâs explore how.
Take note
If youâre caring for a child whoâs under 16 or whoâs getting Social Security disability benefits, you donât need to be 62 to claim your âspousal benefit.â
How to maximize spousal benefits
The basic rule with Social Security is that the older you are when you first claim benefits, the more money you get on a monthly basis.
If someone is only 62 when they claim Social Security, they get whatâs called a permanently reduced retirement benefitâabout 30% less than the amount theyâd get if they waited until their full retirement age or FRA. (For those born after 1960, FRA is 67.)
When to claim Social Security? Understand early, delayed, and full retirement age (FRA) and how your benefits are affected. If youâre trying to decide, the first step is understanding how to calculate your breakeven age should you decide to delay, then comparing the different benefit amounts to your personal situationâyour health, life expectancy, other income streams, and other considerations.
The same is true for spousal benefits. If you file for Social Security at age 62, your spousal benefit would be permanently reduced. But if you wait until your full retirement age (usually 67) to claim benefits, youâd get the full spousal benefit.
Also note that if the higher earner claims benefits early and gets a permanently reduced benefit, the spouseâs 50% will be based on that reduced amount.
Typically when claiming Social Security, you get the highest amount if you wait until age 70. But that doesnât apply to spousal benefits. You donât get a higher spousal benefit if your spouse waits until age 70 to claim benefits, nor do you get a higher spousal benefit if you yourself wait until age 70.
Consider the math carefully. It can get confusing depending on which spouse is older and how many years apart you are.
For example
Suppose the workerâs full retirement benefit is $1,600 per month (assuming they file at 67, or their full retirement age).
If they instead file for benefits early at age 62, theyâll get a permanently reduced benefit of $1,120, a 30% decrease. That would impact their spouse, who can only get a maximum of 50% in spousal benefits at age 67, or $560. Combined total: $1,680.
If the worker files at 67 and they get $1,600 per month, and the spouse waits until age 67 to claim spousal benefits, the spouse is entitled to 50%, or $800. Combined total: $2,400.
If the worker waits until age 70 to get the maximum amount, their overall benefit would be 24% higher, or $1,984. Waiting until 70 doesnât help the spouse getting spousal benefits, so the maximum spousal benefit would still be $800 at age 67. Combined total: $2,784.
Two spousal Social Security filing strategies that no longer work
Itâs worth mentioning two Social Security strategies that were once popular options for couples, but are no longer available because of a federal law change in 2015. Pay attention, because there are a few retirement planning professionals who might still recommend these obsolete strategies.
âFile and suspendâ was a strategy where the worker could file for his or her benefits, enabling their spouse to get spousal benefits, and then suspend their benefits until they were older and could re-file and claim a higher benefit amount. Workers can still file and suspend their benefits, but spousal benefits wonât be paid while the workerâs benefits are suspended.
The other strategy also involved a switch. A spouse could file for spousal benefits as soon they were eligible, and then after a few years, switch over and claim their own benefitâwhich would then be higher. This option is no longer allowed.
The only people who might be able to switch benefits midstream are widows, widowers, and divorcees who are getting a survivor benefit. If, for example, your spouse or ex-spouse was earning delayed benefits, upon their death, your survivor benefit would be worth 100% of the delayed benefit. Again, this could change the math between filing on your own record versus a spouse or ex-spouse Social Security record.
Good to know
If youâre caring for a qualifying child, your benefit is not reduced, regardless of your age when you claim. If youâre a widow or widower at full retirement age, you qualify for your deceased spouseâs full benefit amount. This is a form of spousal benefits called a survivor benefit.
The bottom line
If both spouses can wait until their full retirement age to claim Social Security, thatâs a smart way to maximize your total combined Social Security income. If the higher-earning spouse can wait until age 70, that could provide an additional bump.
But itâs not always easy to decide, as there are many factors to considerâyour life expectancy, your overall health, other assets, and other sources of retirement income you might have.
