It often doesn’t make sense for couples to follow this common financial advice so strictly.
Conventional retirement advice says most people should wait until 70 if they want to maximize their lifetime income from Social Security. But there are some cases where following the conventional advice will result in a suboptimal result.
There are plenty of good reasons to take Social Security well before the age of 70. But one of the best is if you’re planning to claim spousal benefits.
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The all-important details of spousal benefits
Spousal Social Security benefits can be a great way to boost your Social Security income in retirement. Instead of collecting benefits based on your own earnings record, you may be able to collect a larger benefit based on your spouse’s earnings. The benefit can equal up to 50% of your spouse’s primary insurance amount. That’s the amount they’d receive upon reaching full retirement age.
There are a few details you must know if you think you might want to claim spousal benefits.
- To collect spousal benefits, your spouse must also be receiving their retirement benefit.
- You may become eligible for spousal benefits earlier than age 62 if you’re caring for your spouse’s eligible child (under the age of 16 or disabled). Otherwise, you have to wait until at least age 62.
Just like personal retirement benefits, the Social Security Administration will penalize you if you claim spousal benefits before reaching your full retirement age. The only exception is if you’re caring for your spouse’s qualifying child. The penalty is retroactive to when you claim your personal benefit if you later switch to a spousal benefit.
For someone with a full retirement age of 67, this is what your benefit will look like as a percentage of your spouse’s primary insurance amount (PIA).
| Claiming Age | Percent of Spouse’s PIA |
|---|---|
| 62 | 32.5% |
| 63 | 35% |
| 64 | 37.5% |
| 65 | 41.7% |
| 66 | 45.8% |
| 67 | 50% |
Data source: Social Security Administration. Calculations by author.
One of the biggest differences between spousal benefits and personal retirement benefits from Social Security is a lack of delayed retirement credits. The reason experts recommend most people wait to claim Social Security until age 70 is because your personal retirement benefit based on your own work history will continue to increase until that age. The same is not true of spousal benefits. They max out at your full retirement age.
So if you expect to claim your spousal benefits, it almost never makes sense to wait beyond your full retirement age to apply.
It might make sense to claim even earlier
There are some instances where it makes sense to claim your benefits much earlier than your full retirement age.
A simple example is if you’re eligible for your full spousal benefit before you reach full retirement age because you care for your spouse’s qualifying child. However, you may want to suspend benefits until your full retirement age if the child reaches 16 before you qualify for the maximum spousal benefit.
Another example is if you were the lower earner in the family but you’re older than your higher-earning spouse. Based on your possible spousal benefit and life expectancy, it might make sense for you to start collecting your personal benefit as early as age 62 and then switch to your spousal benefit when your younger spouse claims benefits later (likely at age 70). That can result in a larger expected lifetime Social Security income for your household, particularly when accounting for survivors benefits.
Everyone’s situation is different. Determining the best time to apply for Social Security benefits becomes much more complex when you factor in a spouse. Many couples will benefit from at least one spouse claiming well before age 70. Consider talking to a professional specializing in Social Security strategies about your specific situation. The extra lifetime income could be well worth the price of a short meeting with an advisor.