Social Security Claiming Strategies for Couples (And Exes)

Whether you’re married, widowed, or divorced, there’s much to learn. Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock

By Sandra Block From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

Question: We often hear about strategies couples can use to get the most from their combined benefits when one spouse had higher lifetime earnings from work. But what’s the best approach if a dual-income couple has a similar earnings history and will be eligible for roughly the same benefit?

Answer: The decision to file for benefits shouldn’t be made in a vacuum, says Martha Shedden, president of the National Association of Registered Social Security Analysts. If the couple has sufficient income from other sources, such as a pension or retirement savings, they should wait until they’re both 70 to file for benefits, Shedden says. “That’s going to be the best case scenario because they’re maximizing benefits for them as a couple,” she says.

If both partners can wait until age 70 to file, they’ll both benefit from delayed retirement credits, which increase benefits by 8 percent a year between full retirement age and age 70. (Full retirement age is 66 for those who were born between 1943 and 1954; it gradually increases to 67 for those born in 1960 or later.)

In instances in which one spouse is the higher earner, it makes sense for that spouse to postpone benefits as long as possible. Consider having the lower-earning spouse file for benefits at full retirement age, or even as early as 62 if necessary. Use the lower-earning spouse’s benefits, along with income from other sources, to pay expenses while the higher earner’s benefits—which will get the biggest boost from delayed retirement credits—continue to grow until the higher earner turns 70.

Question: How early can you claim survivor benefits after your spouse dies?

Answer: Surviving spouses who were married for at least nine months before their spouse’s death are entitled to survivor benefits at age 60, or age 50 if they’re disabled (or at any age if they have a dependent child who is younger than 16 or who became disabled before age 22).

However, if you claim survivor benefits at age 60, you’ll be entitled to only about 71.5 percent of your late spouse’s benefits, compared with 100 percent of your late spouse’s benefits if you wait until you reach full retirement age. If your own benefits will be less than the survivor benefits, a better strategy is to file for your own benefits at age 62 and switch to survivor benefits when you reach full retirement age, which is when those benefits reach their maximum.

Conversely, if your own benefit will be larger, you could claim survivor benefits as early as age 60 and allow your own benefits—which are eligible for delayed credits—to grow until you reach age 70, at which point you could switch to your own benefits. Survivor benefits don’t increase after you reach your own full retirement age, so this is the most effective way to take advantage of delayed-retirement credits.

Question: I’m divorced. Can I file for benefits based on my ex-spouse’s earnings record?

Answer: You may be eligible for spousal benefits if you were married at least 10 years, you’re currently single, and you’re at least 62 years old.

Whether you qualify to receive these benefits depends on the amount of your own retirement benefit (if any) and the amount of the ex-spousal benefit at the time you file. Spousal (and ex-spousal) benefits are a maximum of 50 percent of the spouse’s full benefit—that is, the amount available at full retirement age.

If you’ve been divorced for at least two years, you don’t need to wait until your ex has started to collect retirement benefits, and you don’t have to notify them that you’re collecting spousal benefits based on their record.

Filing for ex-spousal benefits won’t affect the amount of benefits your ex is eligible to receive, nor will it affect the amount of benefits your ex’s current spouse will receive if your ex remarried. If you’ve been married more than once and meet the other eligibility criteria, you can choose which ex-spouse’s earnings record to use.

If your ex dies, you may also qualify for survivor benefits, which are even more valuable. In that case, you’re eligible to claim as much as the entire amount of your late ex’s benefits.

Question: How will remarriage affect my eligibility for Social Security survivor benefits?

Answer: If you remarry before reaching age 50, you won’t be eligible for disability or survivor benefits based on your deceased former spouse’s work record unless your second marriage ends by divorce or annulment. If you remarry between age 50 and 59, you may qualify for survivor benefits if you’re disabled and unable to work, but otherwise, you’re ineligible for survivor benefits. If you remarry at age 60 or older, you’re eligible for survivor benefits based on your deceased spouse’s record or on your new spouse’s record (once you have been married one year), whichever provides the larger benefit.

©2025 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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