Claiming Spousal Social Security Benefits? 5 Rules Every Retired Couple Needs to Know First.

Social Security spousal benefits can be a great boon for retirement planning among couples for whom one partner spent more time out of the workforce or doesn't have a traditional earnings record for another reason. More than 2 million people collected spousal retirement benefits in January. If you qualify, you can claim up to 50% of your partner's benefit at full retirement age, replacing your personal benefit.

But couples expecting to claim spousal benefits need to be aware of some very important rules before they start their retirement planning. Here are five everyone should know.

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1. You can't receive spousal benefits if your spouse isn't receiving benefits

A key prerequisite to receiving spousal benefits is that your spouse must be actively collecting benefits already. That can be a challenge for couples with a big age gap or when one spouse is delaying benefits significantly longer than the other spouse.

The rule also means if your spouse suspends benefits, you'll no longer qualify for spousal benefits. If you qualify for personal retirement benefits under your own earnings record, you'll receive that amount. Otherwise, you'll receive no benefit at all.

If your spouse is already collecting benefits before you apply, you must apply for spousal benefits at the same time as you apply for your personal benefits. You can't collect one benefit while delaying the other. Social Security will simply pay you whichever benefit is the greater amount.

2. There's one big exception to the above rule

While married couples are required to both receive Social Security retirement benefits in order to qualify for spousal benefits, divorcees can receive spousal benefits without the need for their ex-spouse to actively collect benefits. In fact, the Social Security Administration won't tell your ex whether you're collecting benefits on your ex-partner's earnings record.

In order to qualify for spousal benefits as a divorcee, you must have been married for at least 10 years and divorced for at least two years. Also, you can't remarry if you want to remain eligible to collect based on your ex's earnings record.

3. You can claim your personal benefit and switch later

While you might not be able to claim spousal benefits right away if your spouse isn't already collecting benefits, that doesn't mean you can't collect anything at all from Social Security. You can apply for benefits whenever you want and start receiving them based on your own earnings record if you qualify.

It's important to note, however, that you must apply for spousal benefits once your spouse starts to collect benefits. And the Social Security Administration will use your age when you initially filed for Social Security to determine your monthly spousal benefit.

4. Claiming early reduces your spousal benefits more than personal benefits

If you're planning to claim spousal benefits, you need to be even more mindful of early Social Security applications than people receiving benefits on their own records. The reduction in spousal benefits is steeper than for standard beneficiaries.

For someone with a full retirement age of 67, which is anyone born in 1960 or later, the following table details what percentage of your benefits you can receive at every age. Note that benefit payments are adjusted monthly, so if you claim between birthdays, you'll receive a slightly different reduction than detailed below.

Data source: Social Security Administration. Calculations by author.

5. You don't receive delayed retirement credits for spousal benefits

Retirees collecting Social Security retirement benefits on their own earnings record can increase the monthly payment by waiting to apply beyond full retirement age. Beneficiaries receive delayed retirement credits for each month they delay benefits up to age 70.

However, retirees receiving spousal benefits don't receive any boost to their payments for delaying beyond their full retirement age. As such, it usually makes sense for those planning to collect spousal benefits to start Social Security no later than at full retirement age. Even if you apply for a small personal benefit, you'll collect some money while waiting for your spouse to start benefits and then switching to your spousal benefit.

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