Do you want to claim Social Security early? How the benefits of the spouse come into play

Claiming Social Security before full retirement age can cause some people to be affected when it comes to benefits for the spouse.

For starters, not all first-timers who present information can immediately access these benefits, and even those who do may find that it doesn’t translate into a larger monthly check.

“A lot of people get confused about spouse benefit,” said David Freitag, a social security expert and financial planning consultant for MassMutual.

Part of the reason is that the rules applicable to couple benefits for anyone born after January 1, 1954 were changed under the 2015 legislation.

“That’s when all the creative files disappeared for the younger ones [beneficiaries]”, Said Friday.

While it may seem complicated, two things to keep in mind about the benefits of your spouse in general are:

1. It is limited to 50% of the benefits that your husband or wife would get at full retirement age and;
2. You cannot qualify for these benefits unless your husband or wife already receives Social Security.

It is also important to note that if your spouse dies, apply for survival benefits and not spouse benefits. (More information below.) And if you were born before that 1954 cut-off date, you may have other strategies at your disposal as a spouse.

You may know that your own Social Security benefits are reduced if you claim them before you reach retirement age, which is currently 66 or 67, depending on your year of birth. (Similarly, claiming at any time beyond that age means your benefits would be higher, growing 8% annually until age 70).

According to the Social Security Administration, around 69% of the 43.7 million retired workers in 2018 received reduced benefits for taking advantage of them before reaching retirement age. The first to apply for benefits is at age 62.

However, your early filing would also affect the benefits for the spouse you meet the requirements for, Freitag also said.

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And that, regardless of whether your husband or wife claimed in advance or waited until full retirement age (or later).

The amount of the reduction will be higher when you first claim.

For example, suppose your spouse’s monthly full-term retirement benefit is $ 2,000, so 50% (the maximum you could qualify for if you had to wait to apply) is of $ 1,000.

If you decide to claim Social Security at age 62, your benefit to your spouse would be $ 650, or 35% less, said certified financial planner Peggy Sherman, senior advisor to Briaud Financial Advisors in College Station, Texas.

Also keep in mind that you would not get as much advantage from your own history as benefit from your spouse – you would get the higher of the two. Using the scenario above: If your monthly benefit at age 62 was less than $ 650, you would get $ 650. If your benefit is greater, you will not get any benefit per spouse.

You also don’t have to make any additional requests to see if your spouse’s benefits would give you a monthly increase; you are also considered to be automatically applying as a spouse.

If you do not have a work history to qualify, you can get benefits for your spouse with the same 50% maximum application.

In addition, if your husband or wife claimed beyond full retirement age (meaning your benefits would have continued to grow), a maximum of 50% will be applied to the amount of retirement age. full retirement, not to the highest benefit of the spouse.

In the meantime, if your spouse is not yet receiving benefits and you are requesting yours early, he or she still does not meet the necessary requirements.

When your spouse shows up, you could get benefits for your spouse. However, as you submitted earlier, you would not yet be eligible for the full 50%.

“Spouse benefit would still be reduced because you claimed before,” Sherman said.

In other words, the only way to be eligible for 50% of the spousal benefit in full retirement age is to wait until your own full retirement age, and this is true even if the his spouse showed up earlier, Sherman said.

If you are divorced and the marriage lasted at least ten years, you can claim the ex-spouse’s record if you have not remarried. The same maximum of 50% would apply: if this percentage exceeds your own profits when you apply, you will get the highest amount. (And, no, it has no impact on your ex’s benefits.)

Meanwhile, if your spouse dies, you could get survival benefits, which are usually 100% of what your spouse or husband had been receiving. If the amount is higher than the monthly payments, you will get the highest amount.