3 Things You May Not Have Known About Social Security Spousal Benefits

Key Points

• Social Security's spousal benefits can be a lifeline for some older Americans.

• It's important to understand who is and isn't eligible.

• It's essential to get the timing of your claim just right.

• The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook ›

It's not always easy being married. You have to deal with someone else's dirty dishes in the sink, dirty clothes on the floor, and dirty everything everywhere (unless, of course, your spouse happens to be perfectly neat, in which case there's most likely another habit that gets under your skin).

But there are certainly benefits to being married in retirement. For one thing, you have a partner to share your days with at a time when work is no longer keeping you busy. You also have someone to pool financial resources with at a time when you're no longer earning a paycheck.

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Another perk of being married in retirement is getting to collect spousal benefits from Social Security. But this aspect of the program is often misunderstood. Here are a few things you may not have known.

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1. You can claim spousal benefits even if you're entitled to Social Security on your own

If you worked and paid into Social Security during your career, then you may be eligible for a monthly benefit in retirement based on your personal earnings record. But that doesn't mean spousal benefits are off the table.

Social Security will pay you the larger of your monthly benefit or a spousal benefit. And while you can't collect both at the same time, if you weren't such a high earner and your spouse was, it may be that your spousal benefit is the more generous of the two. In that case, Social Security has no problem paying it to you.

2. You won't get credit for delaying spousal benefits beyond full retirement age

When you're filing for Social Security based on your own earnings record, there's a huge incentive to delay your claim past full retirement age, which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. For each year you wait beyond full retirement age up until 70, your monthly benefit gets an 8% boost -- for life.

However, there's no financial upside to delaying a Social Security spousal benefit claim. The most you can collect in spousal benefits is 50% of what your spouse is entitled to from Social Security at full retirement age. So once you reach your full retirement age, you might as well file.

3. You can claim spousal benefits as a divorcee

You might assume that if you're no longer married, you won't be able to claim spousal benefits on an ex-spouse's record. Not so.

If you were married to your former spouse for at least 10 years and are not remarried, then you may be eligible for spousal benefits. And best of all, you do not need to wait for your former spouse to claim Social Security to get your money.

The rules are different for married folks. If you're married, you must wait for your spouse to sign up for Social Security until you can get benefits yourself.

Social Security's spousal benefits are a huge perk for older Americans, so it's important to know how they work. Whether you're married or divorced, spend some time reading up on spousal benefits so that you understand when the best time is to file and how much money to expect -- especially if you anticipate that Social Security will provide a large chunk of your overall retirement income.

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