3631 / What are spousal Social Security benefits and how can these benefits impact Social Security planning?

Spousal benefits are benefits that an individual may be entitled to receive based on his or her spouse’s earnings record. This essentially means that married clients may be eligible for Social Security benefits regardless of whether they have ever earned income. This spousal benefit can equal up to 50 percent of the working spouse’s benefit if the nonworking spouse waits until his or her full retirement age to claim Social Security benefits. If the spouse claims benefits early, the percentage is reduced based on the number of months remaining until the nonworking spouse reaches full retirement age.

It is also possible that the nonworking spouse actually did have enough earned income to qualify for traditional Social Security benefits, but those benefits may equal less than the 50 percent spousal benefit. In this case, that spouse is eligible for the higher level benefit, but it will be made up of a combination of the nonworking spouse’s own benefit and a portion of the spousal benefit—the full amount of both benefits cannot be claimed.