Apply for Social Security earlier? How spouse benefits come into play

Applying for Social Security before full retirement age can mislead some people when it comes to benefits for wives.

To begin with, not all first-time architects can access these benefits immediately, and even those who may find that this does not translate into a larger monthly check.

“A lot of people are confused about the marital benefit,” said David Freitag, a Social Security expert and financial planning consultant at MassMutual.

Part of the reason is that the rules applicable to the conjugal benefits of any person born after January 1, 1954 have been changed by the 2015 legislation.

“It was when all the creative filing went away for the youngest [beneficiaries], “Freitag said.

Although it may seem complicated, two things to remember about your spouse’s benefits in general are:

1. It is limited to 50% of the benefits that your husband or wife would obtain at full retirement age and;
2. You cannot qualify for these benefits unless your husband or wife is already receiving Social Security.

It is also important to note that if your spouse dies, you would enter the survivor’s pension process, not a spouse’s. (More on that later.) And if you were born before the 1954 deadline, you may have other strategies available to you as a spouse.

You may know that your own Social Security benefits are reduced if you claim them before your full retirement age, which is currently 66 or 67, depending on your year of birth. (Likewise, claiming at any time beyond that age means that your benefits would be greater, growing 8% a year until you reach the age of 70.)

Approximately 69% of the 43.7 million retired workers in 2018 received reduced benefits due to retirement before their full retirement age, according to the Social Security Administration. The first claim for benefits is at 62 years old.

However, your advance order would affect any marital benefit for which you qualify, too, Freitag said.

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And this is regardless of whether your husband or wife complained before or waited until full retirement age (or later).

The amount of the reduction is greater the sooner you make the claim.

For example, let’s say your spouse’s monthly benefit at full retirement age is $ 2,000, so 50% – the maximum you could qualify for if you waited to file the claim – is $ 1,000.

If you decide to apply for Social Security at age 62, your marital benefit will be $ 650, or 35% less, said financial planner Peggy Sherman, a leading consultant with Briaud Financial Advisors in College Station, Texas.

Also keep in mind that you would not get the benefit of your own registration and the marital benefit – you would get the greater of the two. Using the scenario above: If your monthly benefit at age 62 was less than $ 650, you would receive $ 650. If your benefit was greater, you would have no marital benefit.

You also don’t have to fill out an extra application to see if your spouse’s benefits would give you a monthly raise – you are automatically considered a spouse as well.

If you have no job record to qualify, you can get spouse benefits with the same 50% application maximum.

In addition, if your husband or wife claimed beyond the full retirement age – meaning that your benefits would have continued to grow – the maximum 50% is applied to the full retirement age value, not the spouse’s higher benefit.

In the meantime, if your spouse is not yet receiving benefits and you are applying for yours in advance, you are not eligible to receive spouse benefits – yet.

When your spouse files the lawsuit, you are entitled to spouse benefits. However, as you pre-ordered, you would still not be entitled to the full 50%.

“The marital benefit would still be reduced because you claimed it earlier,” said Sherman.

In other words, the only way to qualify for the full 50% of the spouse’s benefit by full retirement age is to wait until your full retirement age – and this is true even if your spouse has applied in advance, said Sherman .

If you are divorced and the marriage lasts at least 10 years, you can claim on your ex-spouse’s record if you have not remarried. The same maximum of 50% would apply – if that portion is more than your own benefits when you enter the file, you will receive the highest amount. (And no, it has no impact on your ex’s benefits.)

In the meantime, if your spouse dies, you will be entitled to survival benefits, which are usually 100% of what your wife or husband has received. If the amount is greater than your monthly payments, you will get the highest amount.