Wife's Social Security Income Depends Upon Husband's Choice

A majority of people eligible to collect Social Security benefits at 62 take them. But you receive 25% less income than if you wait until full retirement age - between 65 and 67 depending on the date of your birth. How does your choice to take social security income at age 62 impact your spouse?

In our following example, let's assume that the husband is older and the larger income earner. A spouse always has the option of taking the larger of her own social security benefit or a 'marriage entitlement' benefit that's based on the benefits her husband collects.

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A spouse's benefits while husband is alive

Wife's Social Security Income Depends Upon Husband's Choice

A wife's spousal benefit can be as high as 50% of her husband's full retirement benefit. To receive this, she must wait until her own full retirement age (age 65 to 67 as explained above) and he must do the same. If the husband opts to start benefits at age 62, but the wife waits for her full retirement age, she still get 50% of her husband's benefit - but his is less because his benefit is reduced due to his early start on benefits. If she retires early at 62, and he waits for his FRA, her spousal benefit will be a reduced about 30% below whatever her 50% spousal benefit would have been. Therefore, there is a "penalty" of either spouse waits to collect social security benefits prior to full retirement age.

Surviving spousal social security income

A surviving spouse is entitled to the greater of 100% of the deceased spouse's social security benefits or his/her own accrued benefit. Often, a surviving spouse will "switch" to receive her husband's benefit upon his demise because it is a larger amount. In this case, the wife's 100% of her husband's benefit is affected by what he actually received. If he retired early, then her 100% s.s. benefit will be permanently smaller to the same extent that his benefit was reduced for starting benefits early. Her 100% benefit would increase if he delays his start of social security income to age 70 (which results in the maximum benefit).

So a married man's decision when to start Social Security benefits has direct implications not only on how much he receives in s.s.benefits, but how much his wife and survivor receives. We are often asked if the wife can "reverse" the husband's choice i.e. can she get a larger benefit even though her husband started benefits early. Unfortunately, the answer is no.

Wife's Social Security Income Depends Upon Husband's Choice

See more articles on maximizing your retirement income and retirement investment choices.

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