When it comes to information, we have over 80 years of experience. But since its a governmentrun program, spouses who apply must meet first a few eligibility requirements. Even if you have never worked under social security, you may be. Spousal benefits for social security elder law associates pa. Spouses of workers who paid at least 40 quarters or 10 years of social security taxes are eligible for spousal benefits. Applying for spousal social security disability benefits. Using social security spousal benefits to your benefit. If you expect to claim spousal social security benefits, its important to understand how your timing can make a significant impact on the size of your checks. Social security spousal benefits are confusing, and among the most common thing readers ask about. How to navigate spousal benefits under new social security rules. For retirement and spousal benefits, full retirement age will reach 67. Collecting social security at 62 has some advantages. Social security forms social security administration.
What disability benefits mean for your spouses social security. To make the most of your spousal social security benefit, it can be helpful to. Form ssa1 information you need to apply for retirement. My wife filed an application for social security in february to take effect when she turns 70 in may.
Knowing how your finances affect your spouses can help both of you avoid future impacts on your incomes. But even more confusing is how the benefit is calculated. Form ssa1 information you need to apply for retirement benefits or medicare. At what age should you collect a social security spousal. This entry was posted in retirement and tagged benefits from spouse, retirement, social security. Apply for social security benefits social security administration. According to social securitys website, though, you can apply for spousal benefits online. Answers to some of the most commonly asked questions financial advisers get on spousal benefits, including. You can complete an application for retirement, spouses, medicare or disability benefits online. For most americans, social security benefits remain a major source of retirement income.
What is the eligibility for social security spouses. Once you and your spouse start receiving social security benefits, upon the death of your spouse, you will continue to receive your benefit, or your spouse s, but not both. Get all the facts you need to know before applying for spousal social security disability benefits below. Social security spousal death benefits are available to eligible beneficiaries. Social security not only provides benefits based on your own record, but also spousal and survivor benefits. You can collect benefits on a spouse s work record regardless of whether you also worked. You can receive spousal benefits when you reach retirement age or a permanently reduced spousal benefit beginning at age 62. How to maximize social security spousal benefits rules. I will be 70 in july and am ready to file an application.
If your spouse is already receiving benefits when you apply, or if you and your spouse apply at the same time, we will also check your eligibility for benefits as a spouse. Social security spousal benefits are probably the most confusing benefit because they are considered a family benefit. Many people claim their benefits at age 62, which, of course, is when they are first available. A spouse may be currently marriedor formerly marriedto an employed person, but under social security, as long as the former marriage was a longterm relationship, it still counts when it comes to claiming your social security benefits. For example, you may be ready to retire and counting on social security as the cornerstone of your retirement plan. The easiest way to apply for spousal social security benefits is through your my social security account at if you dont have an account, you can create one and apply from there.
Form ssa2 information you need to apply for spouses or divorced spouses benefits. After all, if youve paid social security taxes for 10 years, then youre entitled to social security benefits. How are social security spousal benefits calculated. If you are married or divorced and nearing retirement age, you may be eligible for spousal social security benefits. Social security spousal benefits can be as much as 50% of the higherearning spouses full retirement age benefit but theres a lot more to these benefits than those simple basics. How a spouse can get benefits when his or her spouse collects disability. Did you, or your spouse, or prior spouse work in the railroad. One benefit that is often overlooked is spousal benefits. Would you help us understand how to figure out my wifes options. With that said, most are aware that social security acts as an important source of income for retired workers, but less people are informed of the additional spousal benefits available to eligible married couples. Social security does not allow what it calls retroactivity if you claim benefits before then. Even if your exspouse has not applied for hisher social security benefits, you can still apply for.
Apply for social security benefits social security. Some years ago i was talking to a colleague at the university of delaware who was planning to retire. To claim a social security benefit based on your spouses work record, your spouse has to first file for their own benefit. Social securitys online applications can only be accessed by people who actually intend to file for benefits, and i have no personal experience with the online filing process. If you are at full retirement age, which varies according to the year you were born, social security will pay benefits starting that month. Many americans participate in the united states social security system without fully understanding how doing so will benefit them. Social security spousal benefits are partial retirement or disability benefits granted to the spouses of qualifying taxpayers. Spousal benefits spousal benefits and gpowep 0 vote up vote down willow12345 asked 3 years ago my husband is 80. Social security benefits are crucial to most retirements in the united states. The most frequent cause for confusion comes from one small difference between benefits for a spouse versus an exspouse. Spousal or survival benefits generally go to widows or widowers who had low or no social security work records of their own.
Being aware of the free spousal benefits from social security. Understanding spouses benefits social security matters. Application for retirement insurance benefits social security. Online, apply for retirement, spouses or medicare benefits.
Online use our social security retirementmedicare benefit application to apply for retirement, spouses, divorced spouses or medicare benefits. For example, a highearning spouse in poor health may elect to defer taking payments past normal retirement age in order to maximize the widow or widower benefit. Am i eligible for spouses benefits from may, when my wifes benefits begin and july when my own benefits will start. Your 2018 guide to social security spousal benefits the. Social security is phasing in the fra increase differently for.
You may be able to collect payments under your spouses record, too. The tier 1 benefit component amount of your employee, spouse or divorced spouse annuity already includes credit for the railroad workers earnings covered by social security taxes. Social security spousal and survivor benefits were created to provide some level of social security benefits to households that relied primarily on a single worker, as a means to both financially support households with stayathome spouses, and to ensure that an earners widow was not left in poverty after the primary worker passed away. Access a wealth of useful information by visiting our benefits planners. How to maximize social security with spousal benefits. Additional confusion comes from trying to decipher what happens with spousal benefits if you claim before versus after full. Navigating your various retirement options may seem like quite a task. How to claim social security spousal benefits markets. You can expect the following when applying for social security spousal benefits.
How a spouse can get benefits when his or her spouse. How to navigate spousal benefits under new social security. By calling our national tollfree service at 180077212 tty 18003250778 or visiting your local social security office. Your 2019 social security spousal benefits guide the. Thanks to social security spousal benefits, even if one spouse didnt.
If youre thinking about your golden years, you may have questions like what spousal benefits does social security provide. Social securitys benefit to your spouse is called the spousal benefit, and the benefit may apply to a current spouse, widowed spouse, or exspouse if youre divorced. When you file for social security benefits ss benefits, the rrb must reduce your. What disability benefits mean for your spouses social. An appointment is not required, but if you call ahead and schedule one, it may reduce the time you spend waiting to apply. One feature of social security is designed to boost the retirement income of married couples that only had one primary earner. If you do have enough credits to qualify for your own social security benefits and you apply for your own retirement benefits and for benefits as a spouse, we always pay your own benefits first. I was surprised to learn that he did not know about social security spousal benefits. That person must have worked long enough under social security to qualify for benefits. I apply for all insurance benefits for which i am eligible under title ii federal old age. To apply online, you must be at least 61 years and 9 months old.
How your spouse earns social security survivors benefits. If you apply for social security spousal benefits, youll want to know the ins and outs of the process. You can file for a spousal benefit as early as age 62. Online, if you are within 3 months of age 62 or older, or. How are spousal benefits calculated for social security. How to apply for social security spouse benefits sapling. Spousal benefits and gpowep social security intelligence. Social security benefits continue until the month after the death of the recipient. The spousal benefit allows a husband or wife to collect up to 50 percent of a working spouses social security benefits, even if that spouse has never worked. He was born in 1937 and began collecting social security at 62. A littleknown social security spousal benefit option. Today we go over eligibility and how you to start the application process.
Government pension offset rule for social security spousal. Poor health of one or both spouses should affect your decision about when to begin benefits. If your benefits as a spouse are higher than your own retirement benefits, you will get a combination of benefits equaling the higher spouse benefit. As more common questions are brought forth ill update the list let me know if theres anything missing or if any of the faqs needs a. Social security is phasing in the fra increase differently for different types of benefits. He did not pay social security and does have a pension.
But even if theres no death, you can collect a social security spousal benefit equal to half of what your. Finally, the social security retirement system is gender neutral, so while this article has assumed that the wife is the one applying for social security spousal benefits, if the wife earns more than the husband, the husband can apply for spousal benefits based on his wifes earnings. When delaying like this, it often also makes sense for the spouse with the lower wage base to. The calculation for spousal benefits is based on the retirement age.
If you do not wish to use the online application, or the application for the benefit you want is not available online, you can. Social security number and date of birth or age of your current spouse and. Application for wifes or husbands insurance benefits social security. As described in the article about credits for delaying social security benefits, each year that you delay receiving your social security retirement benefit past your full retirement age fra can result in up to an 8% increase in your benefit amount.
If you download, print and complete a paper form, please mail or take it to your local social. With this in mind, ive developed the following list of frequently asked questions, a faq for social security spousal benefits. Spousal benefits allow you to get up to 50 percent of the total. Form ssa2 information you need to apply for spouses or. With survivor benefits, if your late spouse boosted his or her social security payment by waiting past fra to file, your survivor benefit would also increase. Benefits for you as a spouse social security administration. If you apply one to five months after you reach fra, you can get retroactive benefits in a lump sum for. These benefits are equal to half of what the person who paid into social security receives. You apply for social security spousal benefits with the exact same application that is used for standard retirement benefits. The paper application form for spousal benefits is an ssa2, but i dont know. The easiest and quickest way to apply for retirement, spouses, exspouses, or medicare benefits is to apply online. My wife is currently 62 and would retire soon if we can determine how much in spousal benefits she would receive at 62, 63, 63, 65 and fra at 66 based on mine.
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