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Here are some of the basics of spousal benefits. In most cases, you must be at least 62 to claim them, and you and your mate must have been married for at least a year. You can’t collect them unless your spouse is already receiving Social Security. If your spouse is getting their own benefit, you would be what Social Security calls dually ...
For an eligible beneficiary who claims Social Security upon reaching full retirement age in 2024, the highest possible monthly payment is $3,822. For one who does so at age 70, it’s $4,873. If they qualify based on their own work histories, a married couple can each receive the maximum individual retirement benefit.
If you were already receiving spousal benefits on the deceased’s work record, Social Security will in most cases switch you automatically to survivor benefits when the death is reported. Otherwise, you will need to apply for survivor benefits by calling the Social Security Administration (SSA) at 800-772-1213 or contacting your local Social ...
However, if two spouses are both receiving SSI, Social Security applies a couple’s rate of $1,415. While two people who are married to each other can qualify for SSI, collectively they could get less than they might as individuals, depending on their joint income, whether they have children and other factors.
Congress eliminated that option as part of a 2015 budget law. Lawmakers grandfathered in people who were close to retirement age, allowing “dually entitled” people born before Jan. 2, 1954, to choose between spousal and retirement benefits if they had reached FRA.
Being married can have a major impact on what you receive in Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a Social Security-administered benefit for low-income older and disabled people, in two important ways: If you and your spouse both qualify for SSI, you are subject to a maximum couple’s benefit, which is less than the sum of two individual benefits.
One more wrinkle: If you are receiving spousal benefits, are below full retirement age and are working, your own work income is subject to the earnings limit and could reduce your payment. Once you reach full retirement age, the earnings limit disappears. Social Security will not withhold any money from any type of benefit regardless of how ...
If you are divorced and drawing SSDI, your former spouse also may be able to collect benefits if the marriage lasted at least 10 years and your ex is 62 or older and has not remarried. Benefits paid to an ex-spouse do not affect what you or your current spouse get from Social Security.
Depending on your age upon claiming, spousal benefits can range from 32.5 percent to 50 percent of your spouse's primary insurance amount — the retirement benefit to which they are entitled at full retirement age, or FRA (which is 66 and 8 months for people born in 1958, 66 and 10 months for those born in 1959 and 67 for people born in 1960 or after).
The age and length-of-marriage requirements are waived if you are caring for a child of your ex-spouse who is under age 16 or disabled and is entitled to receive children’s benefits on your ex’s record. You can collect survivor benefits if you have remarried, provided that the marriage took place after you turned 60 (50 if disabled).