Paring Knives




How Social Security Spousal Benefits Work



Can a spouse collect on her husband's social security if she reaches retirement age before her husband? No. In order for a wife to collect Social Security benefits on her husband's income the following conditions have to be satisfied:

1. The spouse applying for the spousal benefit needs to be at least age 62

2. The husband will need to be eligible for benefits, consequently he must also be at least age 62. Additionally, the husband must actually apply for Social Security retirement benefits in order for his wife to receive benefits based on his earnings. The husband may then choose to postpone collecting benefits. This strategy is referred to as "file and suspend".

To give you an example, if the wife is 62 and the husband is 60, the wife can start receiving benefits based on her earnings, but she cannot collect based on her husband's earnings until he turns 62 and applies for benefits.

Having said that, if the wife is 66 and her spouse is 62, then the wife can start collecting based on her husband's income (again the husband will need to apply for his Social Security before the wife can collect based on his earnings).

In the illustrations shown above, the wife can start collecting benefits based on her own earnings at age 62 (assuming she has at least forty quarters and also qualifies for benefits on her own), then change to 1 / 2 her husband's benefit when her husband becomes eligible for Social Security.

A couple of areas to take into consideration before applying for benefits:

If a wife applies for her Social Security spousal benefit based on her husband's income when she reaches full retirement age (age 66 for people retiring now), then she will receive 50% of her husband's primary insurance amount (PIA). On the other hand, if she starts collecting benefits at age 62, then her benefit will only be 35% of her husband's PIA.

It doesn't benefit the spouse to apply after her full retirement age, as spousal benefits do not include delayed credits. Additionally, it doesn't benefit the wife if the husband delays applying for benefits because she won't receive any boost in benefits that he receives by waiting to apply.

If a spouse reaches full retirement age and is qualified to apply for a spousal benefit or her own benefit, she may start receiving the spousal benefit now and delay receiving her own benefit so she can build up delayed credits on her own benefit.

You can collect Social Security spousal benefits based on an ex-spouse's earnings so long as you were married for a minimum of ten years and you are at present unmarried. If you have more than one ex-spouse that you qualify for spousal benefits, you will get the maximum benefit you are entitled to. One advantage that divorced spouses have over married spouses is the fact that a divorced spouse does not have to wait for a former husband to apply for benefits as long as the couple has been divorced for a minimum of two years when she applies.

As a final point, the Social Security retirement system is gender neutral, so though this article assumes that the wife is the one applying for spousal benefits, if the wife earns more than her husband, the husband can sign up for Social Security benefits based on his wife's earnings.

Why Women Need To Know Regarding Social Security Spouse And Survivor Benefits
When Social Security was established most women did not work. Lower or no earnings combined with a longer life span meant poverty for many women when their husbands passed away. Social Security recognized these challenges and have implemented several changes to the system to help women avoid poverty.

How Are Financial Planners Paid? Which Kind Of Financial Advisor Is Perfect For Me?
There are many different types of financial planners. Not only are financial advisors compensated differently, but the services they provide vary quite a bit as well. Here is a quick summary of the different types of financial advisors and how they can help you.

3 Ways A Financial Planner Can Help You Reach Your Financial Objectives
Many people wonder exactly what a financial planner does, and how they can help you. Here are just three ways a financial planner can help you achieve your financial dreams and goals.

Social Security Benefits: A Helpful Discussion On Terms To Get The Benefit & Ways To Get After A Family Member's Death
The loss of a family member can be devastating, both emotionally and financially. Social Security is meant to be a survivor program as well as a retirement program. Most people are aware of Social Security retirement benefits, but are you aware that there are Social Security death benefits as well?

Prepare For Retirement-Start Saving Toady
Getting ready for retirement is a lot harder than it used to be. Companies no longer offer pensions and many are reducing or eliminating matching contributions to 401K plans. In addition, Social Security benefits are expected to be smaller and you may have to wait longer to collect them.

Social Security Death Benefits Can Really Help Financially After A Spouse Or Other Loved One Has Passed Away
Qualifying relatives of individuals who have passed away can receive assistance from social security death benefits. The payments provided vary and depend on a number of things such as the payments that have been made to social security as well as the relationship of the relative to the individual.

How You Will Proceed With Social Security Survivor Benefits After Your Spouse Passes Away
When Social Security was first established, it only paid retirement income to workers who qualified. It was later amended to include benefits for spouses and survivors, which made it more of a family or insurance plan, instead of just a retirement plan.