Your Benefit Versus Your Spouse's: A Key Distinction
It's a common and understandable assumption that delaying your Social Security to age 70 will automatically increase your spouse's benefit, just as it increases your own. However, this is one of the most critical and often misunderstood aspects of Social Security planning for couples. While your monthly benefit grows substantially with delayed retirement credits (DRCs) between your full retirement age (FRA) and age 70, your spouse's benefit is not calculated based on this maximum amount. Instead, a spouse's maximum benefit is capped at 50% of your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is the benefit you would receive if you started collecting benefits exactly at your FRA. This means the delayed retirement credits you earn do not affect your spouse's maximum spousal benefit while you are both living.
The Impact of Delayed Filing on Different Benefits
To fully understand how waiting until 70 affects your family, it's essential to break down the different types of benefits and how they are calculated.
- Your Personal Retirement Benefit: This is the benefit you collect based on your own earnings record. By delaying your claim past your FRA, you accrue DRCs, which are worth 8% per year for those born in 1943 or later. This is where waiting until 70 has the most direct impact, resulting in a substantially larger monthly check for you.
- Your Spousal Benefit: For the lower-earning spouse, their benefit is capped at 50% of the higher-earner's PIA. The amount does not increase if the higher-earner waits until 70 to claim. However, the lower-earning spouse can maximize their own spousal benefit by waiting until their own FRA to claim.
- Survivor's Benefit: This is where delaying can have a significant positive impact on your spouse. If the higher-earning spouse passes away first, the surviving spouse can claim the higher of their own benefit or 100% of the deceased spouse's benefit. This includes any delayed retirement credits the deceased spouse had earned. In this case, delaying until 70 does create a larger benefit for the surviving spouse, which can be critical for financial security later in life.
Comparing Claiming Strategies
For many couples, the decision of when to claim benefits requires careful consideration of their ages, health, and other income sources. There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but understanding the differences in potential outcomes is crucial.
Here is a comparison of two common scenarios for a couple (Couple A and Couple B) where one spouse is the higher earner, with a PIA of \$2,000 at their Full Retirement Age (FRA) of 67, and the other is the lower earner, with a PIA of \$800 at their FRA of 67.
| Claiming Strategy | Higher Earner's Benefit | Lower Earner's Spousal Benefit | Combined Monthly Benefit | Key Impact | Scenario Assumptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Higher Earner Claims at FRA (67), Lower Earner Claims at FRA (67) | \$2,000 | \$1,000 (50% of partner's PIA) | \$3,000 | Lower earner receives half of partner's FRA benefit. | Higher earner has reached FRA and has not delayed. |
| Higher Earner Delays to 70, Lower Earner Claims at FRA (67) | \$2,480 (+24% with DRCs) | \$1,000 (still capped at 50% of partner's PIA) | \$3,480 | Higher earner boosts their own benefit, but spousal benefit is unchanged. | Higher earner delays for larger individual benefit. |
Factors to Consider for Your Household
Your personal circumstances will heavily influence the best claiming strategy for your family. Consider the following:
- Age Difference: If there is a large age difference, the older spouse may need to claim benefits sooner to generate income, while the younger, higher-earning spouse delays.
- Health and Longevity: If the higher-earning spouse is in excellent health with a long life expectancy, delaying until 70 is often the best move for overall combined lifetime benefits. If their health is poor, claiming earlier might be wiser.
- Income Needs: Some couples need Social Security income to cover daily expenses and cannot afford to wait until age 70. Assessing your other sources of retirement income is vital before making a decision.
- Survivor Protection: As discussed, delaying benefits creates a larger survivor benefit for your spouse if you pass away first. This can be a major factor in providing financial security for your surviving partner.
- Ex-Spousal Benefits: If you were married for at least 10 years, you can collect spousal benefits on an ex-spouse's record. This can be done without their knowledge and does not affect their or a new spouse's benefits. The same delay principles apply.
Maximizing Your Household's Social Security
To ensure you and your spouse maximize your combined Social Security income, proactive planning is essential. It's not just about one person's benefit, but about coordinating claims to get the most from both earnings records. For couples where one partner has significantly higher earnings, maximizing the higher-earner's benefit is often the best strategy for the overall household. This is because the higher-earner's benefit acts as the base for both the spousal benefit (capped at 50% of the FRA amount) and the survivor benefit (potentially 100% including DRCs). Consulting a financial advisor who specializes in retirement planning can help you navigate these complex rules and model different scenarios based on your specific situation. The Social Security Administration's website also offers a wealth of information and online calculators to help you plan.
Conclusion: Making the Right Call for Your Future
The question of whether waiting until 70 to claim Social Security will give your spouse a bigger benefit is a common one, and the answer highlights the complexities of retirement planning. While your spouse's spousal benefit does not increase due to your delayed retirement credits, the potential for a significantly larger survivor benefit is a major consideration. For many couples, especially those with different earning histories, coordinating the timing of each spouse's claim can be the difference between a good and a great retirement. Understanding the rules and running the numbers for your unique situation is the key to a secure financial future for both you and your spouse.
For more detailed information, consider visiting the official Social Security Administration website at ssa.gov.
