How your marital status affects your Social Security benefits
Maximizing your Social Security benefits should be your goal from the beginning. Many factors can help you do this, but marital status, which is one of the major life events, can also help. Whether you are currently married, divorced, or widowed, your marital status can affect your benefit amount in several ways. So, to help you, this article will discuss how marital status affects your Social Security benefits.
The amount of your benefit is determined by your earnings history and the age at which you claim benefits. Nonetheless, your marital status may affect your final benefit amount, especially if you are currently married. Additionally, if you and your spouse are both eligible for benefits, one spouse’s final benefit amount may increase dramatically due to their marital status.
Additionally, if you are married or divorced, you may be eligible for a special type of Social Security benefit called a spousal benefit. As of January 2024, the average spousal benefit was $912 per month. On the other hand, if you are widowed, you may receive survivor benefits that are much larger than spousal benefits.
So whether you are married, divorced or widowed, your marital status is likely to have a big impact on your benefits. Exactly how your marital status affects your Social Security benefits is explained below.
Below we explain how each type of marital status affects your Social Security benefits.
If you are currently married
If you are married, there are two Social Security scenarios. The first is when one spouse is paid and the other is not, and the second is when both spouses are paid separately.
In the first scenario, if one spouse works and the other does not, the non-working spouse may be eligible for benefits based on the working spouse’s work history. A non-working spouse may be eligible to receive up to 50% of the working spouse’s benefits, even if the working spouse has never paid Social Security.
If your non-working spouse is caring for a child under age 16 or receives disability benefits, you may be eligible to receive benefits at age 62 or earlier. Like other retirement benefits, spousal benefits are reduced if claimed before full retirement age (FRA).
In the second scenario, both spouses are eligible for benefits, and the lower-earning spouse can claim benefits based on his or her work record or the other spouse’s work record.
Let’s say one spouse is entitled to a salary of $2,000 per month and the other spouse is entitled to a salary of $800 per month based on their respective work records. In this case, the spouse entitled to $800 can claim spousal benefits for $1,000 (50% of the other spouse’s salary), or $200.
It is important to note that you cannot receive your spouse’s benefits and your own benefits at the same time. However, if both spouses qualify for benefits based on their work records, they can plan when to claim benefits.
For example, one person could file early and the other person could wait until FRA. In this case, the non-filing spouse is eligible to receive spousal benefits, and when the non-filing spouse later applies for benefits, he or she will automatically receive the larger amount – the spousal benefit or the spousal benefit, whichever is higher. You receive benefits based on your work history.
In case of divorce
Benefits for divorced people are similar to spousal benefits. To receive divorced spouse benefits, a person must not be currently married, their last marriage must have lasted at least 10 years, they must have been divorced for at least two consecutive years, and they must be at least 62 years old.
As with spousal benefits, the maximum benefit a divorced person can receive is 50% of what the ex-spouse would receive at FRA. Additionally, if the divorced person qualifies for benefits based on his or her work history, he or she may receive the higher of the two.
It is important to note that claiming divorced spouse benefits will not have any effect on your ex-spouse’s benefits. If your former spouse remarries, this will not affect your eligibility to claim divorced spouse benefits. Additionally, if your former spouse remarries, claiming divorced spousal benefits will not affect your current spouse’s ability to claim spousal benefits.
if you are a widow
The death of a spouse affects the surviving spouse’s Social Security benefits. In this case, the surviving spouse can receive survivor benefits regardless of age if he or she is over 60 years old, if he or she is disabled, if he or she is over 50 years old, or if he or she is caring for the deceased spouse’s children. Under 16 years of age (or receiving disability benefits).
Unlike spousal and alimony benefits, survivor benefits can be 100% of the deceased spouse’s benefits. If both spouses receive benefits, after one person dies, the surviving spouse is entitled to the higher of the two amounts.
Survivor benefits are primarily provided to spouses, but other family members, including parents and children, may also be eligible to receive survivor benefits. In these cases, the amount of the benefit will depend on the relationship between the beneficiary and the decedent, as well as other factors, such as the decedent’s income history and the beneficiary’s age.
final words
In summary, here’s how your marital status affects your Social Security benefits: Before claiming or planning to claim Social Security, it is very important to understand how your marital status affects your benefits.
It’s also important to know that, unlike standard retirement benefits, delaying claiming after FRA does not increase your spousal or divorced spouse benefits. If your spouse or ex-spouse defers Social Security, your benefits will not increase. The most you can receive is 50% of your spouse’s FRA benefit.
