Maximizing your Social Security benefits is a bit more complicated when you’re married. Not only do you have to worry about timing your claim right, but you also have to figure out which type of benefit will give you the most money.
While the Social Security Administration will technically do the math for you, it’s worth knowing how to determine whether your retirement or spousal benefit is larger so you can plan accordingly. Luckily, you don’t even need a calculator to figure it out.
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How to tell whether your retirement or spousal benefit is larger
If you and your spouse have both worked throughout your career, you’ll likely each qualify for a retirement benefit on your own work record and a spousal benefit on your partner’s record. Your spousal benefit is worth up to one-half of the amount your partner qualifies for at their full retirement age (FRA). This is 67 for most people.
The benefits you qualify for will depend in part on how much you and your partner paid in Social Security payroll taxes throughout your career. But you don’t need to dig out 15-year-old tax returns to figure this out.
You can view your earnings record through your my Social Security account. You can set one of these up for free if you don’t already have one. You’ll need to answer some identity verification questions, like the name of the bank you have your mortgage through, when you first open your account. After that, you’ll be able to set up a username and password. Your spouse can do the same with their own account.
Once you’re in, there’s a tool that shows you estimates of your retirement benefit at every claiming age. You can also edit its predictions about your future income to see how that changes things.
There’s also a tool you can use to estimate your future spousal benefits at every claiming age. But to do this, you’ll need to know the benefit that your spouse qualifies for at their FRA. You can get this from their my Social Security account.
How to use this information to maximize your household benefits
Once you and your spouse know how much your retirement and spousal benefits are worth, you can devise a strategy to maximize your household benefits. If you both plan to claim retirement benefits, you can each choose the claiming age that makes the most sense for you based on your life expectancy. Generally, those with average-to-above-average life expectancies get bigger lifetime benefits by delaying their checks, possibly until age 70 when they qualify for their largest checks.
If your spousal benefit is larger than your retirement benefit, you might choose to claim your retirement benefit first to allow your partner to delay Social Security until they’re older and qualify for bigger benefits. Then, when they sign up, you can ask the Social Security Administration to switch you to a spousal benefit.
Talk your options over with your partner to be sure you’re on the same page about when each of you will apply. Keep each other in the loop if one of you wants to change the plan, and make sure you understand how any changes will affect your retirement budget.
