I'm Married, and I'd Never Dream of Signing Up for Social Security Without Doing This First

If you and your spouse are anything like most couples, you probably don't agree on everything. You likely have different hobbies, different ideas about how to do the dishes, and different opinions on how you should spend your money. But one thing many couples are likely to agree on is that they want the most Social Security benefits possible.

The more you get from the program, the less you have to tap into your personal savings to cover your retirement costs. But when it comes to how to maximize your household benefits, you may not know where to begin. You can start with the move I've made with my own husband.

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Communication is key

Coordinating your Social Security claiming strategy is the best way to get the most money from the program. To do this, you and your spouse need to be on the same page about when each of you plans to claim checks.

Before you have this conversation, each of you should make a free my Social Security account. You'll need to answer some identity verification questions the first time you set this up, but then you can create a username and password for future logins.

There's a tool in your account that will list your full retirement age (FRA), what kind of benefit you qualify for at every claiming age based on your work history to date and estimated future earnings, and what kind of spousal benefit you could qualify for on your partner's work record. For that last one, you'll need to know the benefit your partner qualifies for at their FRA.

Sit down together and compare your estimated benefits at various points in time, and start brainstorming when you might want to claim. There are a few different strategies you can use.

Strategies to maximize your household Social Security benefits

When both of you have earned similar amounts throughout your career, the best play to maximize your benefits is often for each of you to delay Social Security as long as possible. Each month you wait to apply will boost your retirement benefits until you qualify for your largest checks at 70.

If one person has significantly out-earned the other, the lower earner might choose to sign up early. This can give the household some Social Security benefits while the higher earner delays. Then, if the lower earner's spousal benefit is worth more than their own retirement benefit, they can switch to the spousal benefit when the higher earner applies.

All of this assumes you can afford to delay and neither of you has a short life expectancy. Either of these could change your claiming timeline. You might have no choice but to sign up earlier if you're struggling to pay your bills. And you could choose to sign up early if you have a short life expectancy. Or you might prefer not to claim at all so that your spouse can get a larger survivor benefit after you're gone.

Talk your options over with your partner and make sure you're on the same page about when each of you hopes to apply. If either of you changes your mind down the road, communicate with the other so you can both adjust plans accordingly.

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