Social Security for Couples: Spousal and Survivor Benefits
Quick answer
A spouse can receive up to half of their partner's full Social Security benefit, and a surviving spouse can receive up to all of what the deceased partner was getting. If one partner's full benefit is $2,600 and the other's is $900, the lower earner can receive $1,300 at full retirement age. If the higher earner waits until 70, their benefit rises to $3,224, and that becomes the survivor benefit. If they claim at 62 instead, the survivor gets $2,145 at most. That is a difference of $1,079 a month, for life, for the partner who outlives the other.
Most advice about when to claim Social Security is written as if you were deciding alone. For a married couple, that misses the most important part. Your benefit can depend on your partner's earnings record, and when one of you dies, the other can step into the larger benefit.
That means the age at which the higher earner claims affects two lifetimes, not one. This guide explains spousal and survivor benefits in plain terms, using one couple to show what the choices are actually worth.
The spousal benefit: up to half
If you're married, you can claim a benefit based on your spouse's work record once they've started receiving their own. At your full retirement age, which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later, that spousal benefit is half of your partner's full benefit, the amount they'd get at their own full retirement age.
You don't get your own benefit and a spousal benefit added together. If your own benefit is smaller than the spousal amount, Social Security tops it up to the spousal amount. If your own is larger, you simply receive your own.
Meet Robin and Alex. Robin's full benefit is $2,600 a month and Alex's is $900. Half of Robin's is $1,300, so at full retirement age Alex receives $1,300: their own $900, plus a $400 top-up from Robin's record.
Claiming the spousal benefit early
Like your own benefit, the spousal benefit is reduced if you take it before full retirement age, and the reduction is a little steeper: 25/36 of 1% for each of the first 36 months early, then 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond that. Claiming at 62 cuts the spousal amount by 35%, so the most a spouse can receive at 62 is 32.5% of their partner's full benefit.
If Alex claims at 62, their own $900 is reduced by 30% to $630, and the $400 top-up is reduced by 35% to $260. Alex receives $890 a month for life, instead of $1,300 by waiting until 67.
One more thing to know: the spousal benefit doesn't grow if you wait past full retirement age. Delayed retirement credits, the 8% a year you earn by waiting until 70, apply to your own benefit but not to a spousal benefit. So for the lower earner there's no reward for waiting beyond 67 on the spousal part.
The survivor benefit: up to all of it
When one partner dies, the survivor can receive the deceased partner's benefit instead of their own, if it's larger. Unlike the spousal benefit, the survivor benefit includes any delayed retirement credits the deceased partner earned by waiting.
This is where the higher earner's claiming age really counts. If Robin waits until 70, Robin's benefit grows to 124% of the full amount, $3,224 a month. Whoever outlives the other will then receive $3,224.
If Robin claims at 62 instead, Robin receives $1,820, 70% of the full amount. The survivor benefit can't fall below 82.5% of Robin's full benefit, so a surviving Alex would get $2,145. The gap between the two choices is $1,079 a month for the rest of the survivor's life.
For the higher earner, waiting to claim is partly a gift to their partner. The extra benefit lasts as long as either of them is alive, so it protects the one who lives longest, often for many years.
If a survivor claims early
A surviving spouse can start survivor benefits as early as 60, but it's reduced. At 60 the reduction is 28.5%, so the survivor receives 71.5% of the amount. If Robin had waited to 70 and a widowed Alex claimed survivor benefits at 60, Alex would receive about $2,305 a month rather than $3,224.
Survivors often have more flexibility than they realise, because the survivor benefit and their own retirement benefit are separate. Depending on the two amounts, it can make sense to take one first and switch to the other later. It's worth asking Social Security to show you the options before you decide.
Children and young families
If a parent dies while their children are young, each child can receive 75% of that parent's full benefit, usually until 18, or 19 if they're still in high school. A family maximum limits the total paid on one record, but for many young families this is a meaningful income. It's also something to count when working out how much life insurance you need.
Putting it together
- The lower earner gains little by waiting past full retirement age for a spousal benefit, because it doesn't earn delayed credits.
- The higher earner's claiming age sets the survivor benefit, so delaying protects whichever partner lives longest.
- Claiming early still makes sense for some couples, especially if health is poor or the money is needed now. The point is to make the choice knowing what it costs.
- You can compare claiming ages on your own figures with the Social Security Calculator. Your actual benefit amounts are on your Social Security statement.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the Social Security spousal benefit?
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Up to half of your spouse's full benefit, if you claim at your own full retirement age. If your own benefit is larger, you receive your own instead. Claiming at 62 reduces the spousal amount by 35%.
Can I get my own benefit and a spousal benefit together?
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Not in addition to each other. If your own benefit is smaller than the spousal amount, it is topped up to the spousal amount. If it is larger, you receive your own.
What does a widow or widower receive?
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Up to 100% of what the deceased spouse was receiving, including any delayed retirement credits. If the deceased claimed early, the survivor benefit is at least 82.5% of their full benefit. Taking it before full retirement age reduces it, down to 71.5% at age 60.
Does waiting past 67 increase the spousal benefit?
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No. Delayed retirement credits increase your own benefit up to age 70, but they do not apply to the spousal benefit.
Sources
- 20 CFR § 404.333 — Wife's and husband's benefit amounts (eCFR) — The spousal benefit is one-half of the insured person's primary insurance amount.
- 20 CFR § 404.338 — Widow's and widower's benefit amounts (eCFR) — The survivor benefit equals the deceased's primary insurance amount, increased by any delayed retirement credits, and if the deceased claimed early it is the larger of what they were receiving or 82.5% of their primary insurance amount.
- 20 CFR § 404.410 — Reduction for claiming before full retirement age (eCFR) — The reduction rates: 5/9 of 1% a month (then 5/12) for your own benefit, 25/36 of 1% a month (then 5/12) for a spousal benefit, and the survivor reduction that reaches 28.5% at age 60.
- 20 CFR § 404.353 — Child's benefit amounts (eCFR) — A child's benefit is three-quarters of the parent's primary insurance amount after the parent has died, subject to the family maximum.
- 42 U.S. Code § 402 — Old-age and survivors insurance benefit payments (Cornell LII) — The statute behind spousal, survivor and child benefits, and the delayed retirement credit of 2/3 of 1% a month that applies to a worker's own benefit.