Social Security spousal and survivor benefits

How it works

A spousal benefit can be as much as 50 percent of the worker's benefit at full retirement age, and it is available only after the worker has filed. Claiming it before the spouse's own full retirement age reduces it permanently, and it does not grow by waiting past full retirement age. When a spouse has their own work record, Social Security pays the higher of the two, not both. A former spouse qualifies after a marriage of at least ten years if they have not remarried. A survivor benefit can be as much as 100 percent of what the deceased worker was receiving, can begin as early as age 60, or 50 with a disability, and is reduced for early claiming. A survivor can take one benefit first and switch to the other later.

What it gives

A spouse who never worked for pay still receives a lifetime benefit based on the other's record.

A survivor's benefit replaces the larger of the couple's two checks, not the smaller.

A former spouse after a ten year marriage keeps a claim on the record without affecting anyone else.

What it costs, or where the catch is

The spousal benefit is permanently reduced when taken before full retirement age, with no credit for waiting past it.

Nothing is paid on the spousal record until the worker files.

When the first spouse dies, the household drops to one check, which is a real cut in income.

A worked example

Freya spent most of her years raising children and has a small benefit of her own, $600 a month at full retirement age. Her husband Lucas has a full retirement benefit of $2,800. At her full retirement age she receives the higher of her own $600 or half of his, which is $1,400, since $2,800 divided by 2 is $1,400. Years later, after Lucas dies, her check rises to his full $2,800 as a survivor, and her own benefit stops.

Where it goes wrong

The common miss is a lower earning spouse claiming at 62 without knowing the spousal benefit itself is reduced for early claiming and never recovers.

Who confirms it for you

For your own numbers, a benefits counselor at Social Security. This page explains how the rule works for people in general; it does not know your situation and does not tell you what to do.

The official source

Social Security: Benefits for spouses. Every figure that changes by year comes from the site's rules table, which the watcher checks against the official page on a schedule; where a figure is not yet verified, this page says so instead of printing a number.