Spouse’s Early Retirement May Lower Other Spouse’s Social Security Benefits
Traditionally, about 50% of people eligible to collect Social Security at 62 do so. But if you do, you’ll receive about 25% less income (i.e. Social Security benefits) than waiting until your full retirement age – between 65 and 67 depending on your birthday. What implication does your early retirement have on your spouse?
Everyone whose work earnings make him or her eligible for Social Security benefits (i.e. income) receives his full Social Security benefit when he reaches his full retirement age (FRA). You can retire as early as 62 but your benefits will be permanently reduced by about 25% from the full benefits you’d get at your FRA. Waiting longer than your FRA to begin receiving Social Security benefits increases your benefits. Waiting to age 70, will increase them by about 32%.
A spouse (i.e. a married person) always has the option of taking the larger of her own working benefit or a ‘marriage entitlement’ benefit that’s based on the benefit her husband collects (assuming the husband was the higher earner in this example).
A spouse’s benefits while husband is alive
Since men generally have worked and earned more, it’s their wives that are in the position of collecting the larger of their own working Social Security benefits or their social security spouse’s benefit.
A wife’s spousal benefit can be as high as 50% of her husband’s full retirement benefit. To receive this, she must wait for her own FRA and he must do the same.
If he retires early, but she waits for her FRA, she still get 50% of her husband’s benefit – but his is less because his benefit is reduce due to his early retirement. If he retired at 62, his benefit would be reduced by about 25% from his FRA benefit.
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.
A surviving spouse’s benefit
A surviving spouse is entitled to the greater of 100% of the deceased spouse’s social security benefits or his/her own working benefit. As stated above, this option is more typical for a surviving wife to make.
Here, the wife’s 100% of her husband’s benefit is affected by what he actually received. So if he retired early, then her 100% benefit will be smaller to the same extent that his benefit was reduced for early retirement. Her 100% benefit would increase if he delays his retirement to age 70.
So a married man’s decision when to collect Social Security has direct implications not only on how much he’ll receive in Social Security benefits, but how much his wife and survivor will receive. But remember, there’s more to life than financial gain, men don’t live as long as women; they deserve some decent retirement time too.
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February 3rd, 2009 at 8:29 am
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February 9th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
While a lot of people would wait until 67-70 years to increase their payments by up to 32% - unfortunately this is just not possible for many seniors. Consider the difficulty in finding/keeping employment at that age, in today climate, also the fact that many people approaching this age are physically unable to work in many areas.
March 21st, 2009 at 7:22 pm
You should have listed if the man retires at 65 and woman is under that age does she get full amount she noramly would when he dies. If she does not have social security does it effect what she gets paid.
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March 30th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
The Social Security Administration website at http://search.ssa.gov/search?q=what+every+woman+should+know&btnG=GO&output=xml_no_dtd&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&ie=UTF-8&client=default_frontend&oe=UTF-8&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&proxyreload=1 has several booklets about “What Every Woman Should Know” about Social Security.
These booklets, while aimed at women, are basically for spouses, so if you are a man who will be drawing your social security off of your wife’s income, then they would apply to you, also.
A must read for everyone.
You have a very informative blog!
March 31st, 2009 at 7:21 am
The Social Security Administration has a booklet titled, What Every Woman Should Know.
Although the title says it is for women, it is really for spouses, as it will apply to the man if he is drawing social security based on his wife’s wages.
April 21st, 2009 at 12:41 am
This is good Information you provide. and giving the right path to retired people.
May 16th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
What are the widow benefits for a widow under 65 with no children? Is it affected by her husbands earnings?
June 20th, 2009 at 3:05 am
Getting full Social security benefit seems great. But waiting around 8 years seems waiting time. At the same time it is hark to work at the old ages for advance in age. I don’t think i can wait 70 years and it may be difficult for me.
June 20th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Good article. Not many people think about how much money they looseif they retire early. Not only does it effect the man it can also make a difference on the wifes retirement when he dies.
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:55 am
I am currently 56 years of age. My wife is 60 years of age. She doesn’t have enough SS credits on her own to receive her own benefit. I am thinking that at 62 applying for SS and have my wife apply for her spousal benefit. She would be 66 years and four months at that time. Then suspend my benefit before my first check. I am a high wage earner and my wife has spent her time as a housewife raising our children. This strategy looks like how we can maximize our total benefit. I want to work to at least to 63 1/2 and maybe take my benefit at 64 years of age. I may even work a few years longer after I retire from my present job. The freedom to work act of 2000 is doing its job. Without that it doesn’t make sense for me to work longer and I work in a field that has sever shortages of qualified workers.
July 19th, 2009 at 7:44 am
Very good information. I never thought about how it effects my retirement when my husband retires. I think i can choose wich one will be more income so it does not apply to me in this case but i know people it does.
July 21st, 2009 at 2:57 pm
I would be surprised if in the future we even have social security seeing how the government that is currently in control may take that all away and give it to the indigent who do not work.
July 27th, 2009 at 8:28 am
I am currently a 52 yr old widow my husband would be 56 now, my question is at who’s retirement age do I file for his retirement? My age or his age? How do I know when or who’s to file for Social Security retirement.
August 20th, 2009 at 1:07 am
Great article. Thank a lot for the information. Retirement finance is a really good thing. At times people have no clue about it. Thanks for the information. Cheers
August 21st, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Good article. Not many people think about how much money they loose if they retire early. And I never thought about how it effects my retirement when my husband retires. your article got me thinking. thanks a bunch. I need to start working on something for our future. Thanks
August 23rd, 2009 at 5:33 am
Such informative articles… this I never knew “A surviving spouse is entitled to the greater of 100% of the deceased spouse’s social security benefits or his/her own working benefit.” My Dad’s partner has just passed away and I am sure that nobody has bothered to check any social security benefits.
September 7th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
My wife is 64 and is getting her SS. I’m 63 7 haven’t filed yet for mine. Can I file for 1/2 of her value & then later file for my own? I know when I file for my own I’d loose the 1/2 I would be getting of her SS. Please help.
September 13th, 2009 at 12:11 am
Awesome article. Not many people think about how much money they loose if they retire early. Which I think is a really bad thing in personal planning.
October 22nd, 2009 at 6:28 am
I would be surprised if in the future we even have social security seeing how the government that is currently in control may take that all away and give it to the indigent who do not work..
December 2nd, 2009 at 11:30 am
I actually knew about the spouse right to take over deceased spouse pension. However I came to know about this by a coincidence, because my friend stumbled upon a letter from the pension of her deceased husband. She never knew about this possibility. Everyone should know. Thanks for posting!
January 18th, 2010 at 11:20 am
Is it true that an ex-wife can collect on her ex-husband’s Social Security benefits at age 62 and then collect on her own for the full amount at 65?