The 2024 Social Security Survey from Nationwide Retirement Institute identified prevalent and problematic knowledge gaps on the topic of spousal benefits.

• 30% of surveyed adults incorrectly marked this statement as false: Social Security may offer benefits for your spouse or children.
• 53% of surveyed adults incorrectly marked this statement as false: If you are divorced, you may be eligible for Social Security benefits based on your ex-spouse's record.

Those knowledge gaps could lead to financial mistakes. Here are three things married couples should know about spousal Social Security benefits.

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1. Spouses can claim Social Security on their retired partner's work record

Social Security retirement benefits are available to retired workers and spouses, even when the spouse has no work history. Spouses can claim Social Security based on their retired partner's earnings record, so long as the following conditions are satisfied.

• The spouse and partner must have been married for at least one full year.
• The spouse must be at least age 62 or have a qualifying child in their care, meaning a child that is under age 16 or receives disability benefits.
• The retired worker on whose earnings record the spouse claims Social Security must themselves be receiving retirement benefits.

Importantly, some spouses will be eligible for retired-worker benefits based on their own earnings record and spousal benefits based on their retired partner's earnings record. In that case, the spouse is automatically awarded the higher amount when they apply for benefits.

2. Spouses can maximize their benefit by claiming Social Security at full retirement age

How much benefit income a spouse receives from Social Security depends on their claim age and their retired partner's primary insurance amount (PIA). The term PIA refers to the benefit a retired worker receives if they start collecting Social Security at full retirement age (FRA), which is age 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.

At most, the spousal benefit will equal one-half of the retired worker's PIA. But spouses must claim Social Security at FRA to receive that amount. Spouses that claim Social Security earlier will receive a smaller payout, meaning less than 50% of their retired partner's PIA. The precise reduction depends on how many months early benefits start, but it would be most severe at age 62.

The chart below shows the spousal benefit (as a percentage of the retired worker's PIA) for anyone born in 1960 or later.

Data source: The Social Security Administration. Note: The percentages shown above represent spousal benefits as a percentage of the retired partner's primary insurance amount.

There is another important distinction between retired-worker benefits and spousal benefits. Retired workers can earn delayed retirement credits that increase their benefit amount if they start Social Security after FRA. Spouses cannot earn delayed retirement credits, so there is no advantage to claiming any later. Put differently, spouses maximize their payout by claiming Social Security at FRA.

Importantly, an individual eligible for Social Security as a retired worker and a spouse cannot simultaneously collect the spousal benefit while accruing delayed retirement credits on their retired-worker benefit. When someone in that position applies for Social Security, they automatically apply for both types and are awarded the larger benefit.

3. Divorced spouses can collect Social Security benefits on their ex-partner's work record

Divorced spouses can still collect Social Security benefits based on the work record of their ex-partner, so long as the following conditions are satisfied.

• The divorced spouse must be at least age 62 or have a qualifying child in their care.
• The divorced spouse and ex-partner must have been married for at least 10 years.
• The spouse must not be remarried, and they must have been divorced for at least two years.

There are a few points of possible confusion. First, spouses cannot usually typically collect Social Security benefits on a partner's earnings record unless that partner is already receiving benefits themselves. But that rule does not apply to divorced spouses.

Second, divorced spouses that remarry can no longer collect benefits based on their ex-partner's work record, but that rule does not work in reverse. Whether the ex-partner has remarried has no bearing on the divorced spouse's ability to collect Social Security.

Third, some divorced spouses worry that claiming Social Security on the work record of their ex-partner will impact that person's benefit, or else that their ex-partner will be notified if they apply for benefits. Neither is true. The ex-partner's payout does not change, nor will they be notified if their former spouse claims Social Security on their work record.