You and your spouse may not be old enough to claim Social Security yet, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start thinking about it. The decisions you’re making today have a huge effect on the benefits you’ll receive years or decades from now and, consequently, on how much of your living expenses you’ll have to cover on your own.
No matter your age, you can do the following three things right now. Ironing out these details before the end of the year will set you up for the most comfortable retirement possible.
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1. Check your earnings records
If you’re both working, you have earnings records where the government tracks how much money you’ve paid Social Security taxes on each year. This is what the Social Security Administration uses as its foundation for calculating your monthly benefit.
You can view yours by creating a my Social Security account. This is free, but you’ll need to answer some identity verification questions at first to set it up. Once you’ve created your account, you’ll be able to use a username and password for future logins.
Look yours over and make sure the entries for each year match your own income and tax records. One thing to note if you’re a high earner is that you may not pay Social Security taxes on all your income. In 2026, you only pay this on the first $184,500 you earn. If you make more than this, your earnings record might show a lower amount without being incorrect.
If you notice a mistake, contact the Social Security Administration. You may need to provide it with copies of your tax records for the year in question. It can take some time to sort out, but it’s worth doing to ensure your benefits are based on your actual income history. Make a point to review this at least annually.
2. Decide when each person will claim
Sit down with your spouse and try to come up with a plan for when each of you wants to claim benefits. This is key to estimating how much you’ll get from the program.
There’s a benefit estimator tool in your my Social Security account that can help give you a rough idea of how much you’ll qualify for at every possible claiming age. You can also estimate your spousal benefit if you know the amount your spouse qualifies for at their full retirement age (FRA), which is 67 for most workers today.
Claiming early means more years of checks, but each one you get is smaller. Every month you delay Social Security increases your benefit until you qualify for your maximum retirement checks at 70 or your maximum spousal benefit at your FRA. But the right time for you to sign up depends on your finances and your life expectancy.
If you and your spouse have both earned similar amounts over your career, you might each prefer to delay Social Security as long as possible, unless finances won’t permit that or one of you has a short life expectancy.
But if one person has significantly outearned the other, the lower earner might decide to sign up first. Their benefits can help the household with some of its costs until the higher earner is ready to apply. Then, when the higher earner signs up, the lower earner can switch to a spousal benefit if it’s worth more than their own retirement benefit.
3. Understand its place in your budget
Once you have a rough idea of how much you and your spouse will get from Social Security per month in retirement, you can subtract this from your estimated monthly retirement expenses. The difference is the amount you’ll need to cover from other sources, like a job or personal savings.
Multiply this amount by 12 to get your estimated annual out-of-pocket expenses, and then multiply that by 25. You can use the result as a rough retirement savings target.
This doesn’t mean you’re locked into this plan forever, though. If circumstances change and you decide to claim Social Security at a different time or retire later, you can revisit your retirement budget and develop a strategy that aligns with the new plan.
