The 3 Secrets to Maxing out Social Security Spousal Benefits

Q: My wife was born in 1950 and will be 65 this year; I was born in 1953 and will be 62. As I have earned more in my lifetime, my Social Security benefit is estimated to be larger than hers at full retirement age. But her spousal benefit would be less than half of her individual retirement benefit. When the younger spouse has a higher estimated benefit, what are some strategies to explore? —Jack

A: If there's one set of rules worth understanding, it's spousal benefits. Every year, couples leave literally billions of dollars on the table because they make the wrong claiming choices. Here are three secrets to getting this claim right, and how they apply to your situation:

1. To get spousal benefits, the primary earner must file for retirement benefits first. Spousal benefits can equal as much as half of the amount the person would receive in individual Social Security benefits at full retirement age (FRA). For anyone born in 1943 through 1954, FRA is 66; it will gradually rise to 67 for people born in 1960 or later.

2. If you file for a spousal benefit before your FRA, you will end up with a smaller amount. You can file as early as age 62 but if you do, you will be hit with benefit reductions. Retirement benefits will rise each month they are deferred between FRA and age 70. Spousal benefits peak at FRA, so there is no reason to defer claiming them past that point.

An early filing will also trigger a Social Security provision called deeming—this means the agency considers you to be filing both for your individual retirement benefit and you spousal benefit. You will be paid an amount roughly equal to the greater of the two benefits. But you lose the opportunity to get increases for delayed claiming on your individual benefits. This is a bad deal.

3. Use a file-and-suspend strategy. If both spouses defer claiming until FRA, the higher-earning spouse can file and suspend benefits then. This way, the lower-earning spouse can file for spousal benefits, allowing his or her individual retirement benefit to grow due to delayed retirement credits. Then you can each file for maximum retirement benefits at age 70.

So what's the right approach for you? If you both defer filing, you can file and suspend your benefit at age 66. This will enable your spouse, who will have turned 69, to file for her maximum spousal benefit. Meanwhile, she can continue to allow her individual benefit to grow due to delayed credits up to age 70

Alternatively, your wife can file and suspend at 69, allowing you to file for your maximum spousal benefit at 66 and collect it for four years, while deferring your own retirement benefit until 70. Even though you are the higher earner. this strategy seems likely to maximize your family's total benefits.

There's another advantage to waiting until 70: if you die before your wife, she will receive a widow's benefit that will equal your maximum retirement benefit. (She can only collect the greater of her retirement or widow's benefit.)

Of course, choosing the best spousal claiming strategy for a couple depends on many factors, including relative ages, finances and health. This is something married partners need to talk about.

Best of luck!

Philip Moeller is an expert on retirement, aging, and health. He is the co-author of “Get What’s Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security,” and a research fellow at the Center for Aging & Work at Boston College. Reach him at moeller.philip@gmail.com or @PhilMoeller on Twitter.

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