More than 65 million seniors rely upon Social Security benefits, and many consider it their primary or sole source of retirement income. Most of these beneficiaries are retired workers, but another nearly 1.9 million spouses and ex-spouses claim on their partner's or ex-partner's records.
Spousal benefits also provide regular monthly checks, but their qualification requirements differ slightly from retired workers' qualifications. Understanding how spousal Social Security benefits work can help you anticipate which type of benefit you might receive in retirement and how much you might get.
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How to qualify for spousal Social Security benefits
The only requirement you must meet to be eligible for a spousal Social Security benefit is marriage to a qualifying worker. A qualifying worker is one who has earned at least 40 work credits over the years, where one credit is defined as $1,730 in earnings in 2024, and you can earn a maximum of four credits per year.
You don't always have to remain married to the qualifying worker to receive spousal benefits. You may qualify for them if you meet any of the following criteria:
- You've been married to a qualifying worker for at least one year.
- You're married and the parent of your spouse's child, regardless of marriage length.
- You've been married for any length of time and were entitled to Social Security benefits in the month before the month in which you got married.
- You were married to the qualifying worker for at least 10 years before divorcing and have not remarried.
In the last case, it doesn't matter if the worker has remarried. You can receive spousal benefits without affecting the new spouse's ability to claim spousal Social Security.
Qualifying for spousal Social Security doesn't mean you'll get it
If you checked at least one of the boxes above, you're eligible for spousal Social Security benefits. But whether you receive this type of benefit depends on what kind of Social Security retirement benefit, if any, you qualify for.
The Social Security Administration automatically gives you the larger of your retirement or your spousal benefit. However, you can't claim a spousal benefit unless your partner is already on Social Security.
Your retirement benefit is based on your work history to date. If you haven't worked or you didn't work long enough to earn 40 credits, you won't qualify for your own benefit, so you know you'll get a spousal benefit. But if you've also worked, estimating your Social Security benefit is a little trickier.
Your spousal benefit is worth up to one-half of your partner's retirement benefit at their full retirement age (FRA). This is between 66 and 67 for today's workers. If you hope to claim this, you must also delay benefits until your FRA.
Claiming early or late -- that is, before or after your FRA -- affects retirement and spousal benefits, but not in the same way. The table below shows how your claiming age will affect your benefits:
|
Retirement Benefits |
Spousal Benefits |
|
|---|---|---|
|
If you claim more than 36 months under your FRA |
Checks shrink by 20% plus 5/12 of 1% per month |
Checks shrink by 25% plus 5/12 of 1% per month |
|
If you claim between one and 36 months below your FRA |
Checks shrink by 5/9 of 1% per month |
Checks shrink by 25/36 of 1% per month |
|
If you claim after your FRA |
Checks grow by 2/3 of 1% per month until age 70 |
No benefit increase |
Source: Social Security Administration. Chart by author.
Ultimately, the checks you get depend on the size of your and your partner's retirement benefits and when each of you applies for Social Security.
Estimating how much you'll get
You don't have to do the math to figure out whether a retirement benefit or a spousal benefit is a better fit for you. The Social Security Administration will figure this out when you apply.
The one exception to this is if your spousal benefit is larger than your own retirement benefit and your spouse hasn't applied for Social Security yet. When they do, you would have to reach out to request that the Social Security Administration switch you to a spousal benefit.
If you'd like to estimate your retirement and spousal benefits, you and your spouse can create "my Social Security" accounts. This estimates your future benefits based on your work history. You can use this to get an idea of your future retirement benefit, based on when you plan to claim checks.
To estimate your spousal benefit, take your partner's estimated benefit at their FRA and enter it into your "my Social Security" account. Alternatively, you can enter your birthdate into your spouse's account to see estimates of what your spousal benefit might look like.
Remember, these are only estimates. You can use this information to tentatively decide when each person will claim Social Security. Just be prepared to adapt your strategy if your finances or plans for retirement change.
