Social Security Report

Q & A

Can married couples receive a higher Social Security benefit?

Complete Question: I saw a question posted on your website the other day where a married couple asked if being married could cause a decrease in benefits. Can being married cause an increase in benefits?

Answer: Actually, it can, but only at Full Retirement Age (FRA) and only under certain circumstances. Regardless of whether you are filing for spousal benefits or your own retirement benefits, Social Security will pay you the higher benefit amount. What most people do not realize is that if you are receiving your own benefit at a reduced rate before FRA you may receive additional spousal benefits when you reach FRA. Again, this is only under certain circumstances because it is based on how much your benefit and your spouse’s benefit is. Here are two examples to explain when your benefit would increase and when it would not. (Note that PIA is the “Primary Insurance Amount” which is the benefit one would receive at Full Retirement Age on his/her OWN work record.)

EXAMPLE 1:
Bill’s PIA is $2,500. His wife, Betty’s PIA is $1,000. Betty files for Social Security on her OWN work record at the age of 62, so she receives $750. What happens when she turns 66 (FRA)?
1/2 of Bill’s PIA ($1,250) – Betty’s PIA ($1,000) = $250 + Betty’s age 62 benefit ($750) = $1,000
Therefore, at FRA, Betty’s Social Security Benefit will increase from $750 to $1,000 (COLA not taken into account)

EXAMPLE 2:
Bill’s PIA is $1,500. His wife, Betty’s PIA is $1,000. Betty files for Social Security on her OWN work record at the age of 62, so she receives $750. What happens when she turns 66 (FRA)?
1/2 of Bill’s PIA ($750) – Betty’s PIA ($1,000) = -$250. Even though this amount is negative, Betty’s benefit will NOT be reduced (anything negative at this point is considered the same as $0)
Therefore, at FRA, Betty’s Social Security Benefit will remain the same at $750 (COLA not taken into account).

As these examples show, the difference in Primary Insurance Amounts have to be significantly different in order to have an impact. Also remember that if you are a surviving spouse, your benefit will be larger if your spouse had a larger benefit than you did. (For example, Betty would receive the $2,500 benefit in example 1 as a surviving spouse benefit if she is a widow at Full Retirement Age and Bill filed for benefits at FRA.)

Notice: If you have any questions regarding Social Security benefits for spouses or surviving spouses, or any other Social Security questions, you can reply below. If you would like a personal response, you can email C.J. at cmiles@amacfoundation.com. Please do not send personal identification information such as Social Security numbers.