5 Things All Retired Couples Should Know
Social Security is best known for providing retirement income to tens of millions of retired workers, but there’s a lot more to the program. One of the most important, but often misunderstood, components is Social Security spousal benefits.
Spousal benefits are designed to provide much-needed retirement income to married couples for which one spouse had a relatively low income. The most prevalent example is situations in which one spouse was a stay-at-home parent. However, spousal benefits can also apply in cases in which one spouse simply earned a much higher average salary.
With that in mind, here are five things all couples, and even divorced spouses, should know about Social Security spousal benefits in 2025.
The short answer is that a spousal benefit can be as much as 50% of the higher earner’s primary insurance amount, which is essentially one’s retirement benefit if claiming at full retirement age. For example, if your Social Security retirement benefit is expected to be $2,000 per month at full retirement age, the highest possible spousal benefit based on your work record would be $1,000.
The maximum Social Security benefit for someone reaching full retirement age in 2025 is $4,018 per month. That means the maximum possible spousal benefit is approximately $2,000.
According to the 2024 Social Security Statistical Supplement, there are about 1.98 million people actively receiving a spousal benefit from Social Security. The average monthly benefit was $890.24, which is roughly $10,670 per year.
This might not sound like a massive amount, and it isn’t compared with the average retired worker’s benefit of $1,905 per month. But for couples who have one primary earner, this can make quite a difference in their financial comfort after retirement.
Just as retired workers’ Social Security benefits can be reduced for claiming before full retirement age, spousal benefits can be as well.
Spousal benefits can be claimed as early as age 62 but will be reduced by 25/36 of 1% for each month before full retirement age, up to 36 months early. Beyond 36 months early, the reduction is 5/12 of 1% per month.
I’ll spare you the math: If your full retirement age is 67 and you claim a spousal benefit at 62, it will be 35% lower than it would be at full retirement age.
However, one big difference is that unlike retired workers’ benefits, there is no delayed retirement credit with spousal benefits. In other words, there’s no financial benefit for waiting until after full retirement age to start collecting a spousal benefit.
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