Here’s how to know if you qualify for Social Security spousal benefits

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Social Security has been one of the country’s most important social programs since it was implemented decades ago. In July, nearly 54 million people received Social Security retirement benefits, many of whom rely on them for their livelihoods.

Social Security benefits are usually based on your earnings history over your career. Simply put, the more you pay in Social Security taxes, the more you can expect to receive in Social Security retirement benefits (although there is a cap). The problem with that, though, is that not everyone works or has a decent earnings history. Fortunately, Social Security offers spousal benefits to help with this.

Social Security spousal benefits are payments made to the spouse of someone who is currently receiving Social Security. This is especially useful for people with limited work history or relatively low career earnings compared to their partners. Instead of relying on their own Social Security benefits, which may be considerably less or nonexistent, they can receive a benefit based on their spouse’s earnings.

Image source: Getty Images.

Who is eligible to receive Social Security spousal benefits?

To be eligible for Social Security spousal benefits, your spouse must be currently receiving pension benefits and must have been married for at least one year. In addition, one of the following must apply:

• You are at least 62 years old.
• Take care of a child under 16.
• You care for a child with a disability that began before age 22.

If one of the three criteria above is not met, you are not eligible to receive Social Security spousal benefits, regardless of meeting the time of marriage and filing requirements. Divorced people may be eligible to claim spousal benefits based on their ex-spouse’s work history as long as they have been married for at least 10 years.

People aged 62 or over can also claim their own pension benefits and then claim the higher spousal benefits once their spouse claims a pension. This is useful for couples with a considerable age difference, as well as in situations where the higher-earning spouse prefers to delay claiming pension benefits until an older age.

How Much Can You Get in Social Security Spousal Benefits?

For example, if Spouse A is the primary claimant and his monthly benefit at full retirement age is $2,000, Spouse B (the person claiming spousal benefits) is eligible to receive up to $1,000 in monthly benefits. The exact amount will depend on the age at which Spouse B claims benefits.

Here are the full retirement ages by birth years:

Image source: The Motley Fool.

When you claim spousal benefits affects the amount you receive

As with regular Social Security benefits, you don’t have to claim spousal benefits at full retirement age; you can apply from the age of 62, but your monthly benefit will be reduced according to the distance from retirement age.

Spousal benefits are reduced by 25/36 of 1% each month before full retirement age, up to 36 months. After that, each month further reduces spousal benefits by 5/12 of 1% monthly. For example, if your full retirement age is 67 and you claim spousal benefits at age 62, your monthly check will be reduced by 35%. If you claim at 64, it will be reduced by 25%.

Unlike regular Social Security benefits, spousal benefits aren’t increased if you delay claiming them past full retirement age, so there’s generally no real reason to do so.