If you’re married and at least 62 years old, you’re entitled to claim a Social Security spousal benefit even if you haven’t worked outside of the home. A spouse’s decision to claim early retirement benefits will result in a lower benefit. According to SSA, the spousal benefit is reduced to approximately one-third of the primary beneficiary’s benefit in that case.
Deciding to wait until Full Retirement Age (FRA), age 66 (for people born 1943 – 1954) and age 67 (for people born in and after 1960), allows the spouse to maximize his or her Social Security benefits. At FRA, he or she may claim a retirement benefit that’s always 60 percent of the spouse’s Social Security benefit.
File-and-suspend options and other advanced claiming strategies were eliminated for most people at the start of 2016:
In the past, a spouse would file and suspect his or her Social Security benefit while the partner filed a “restricted application for spousal benefits” based upon the primary spouse’s earnings record.
By taking this approach, a spouse could receive a Social Security benefit for four years (as a spouse) while allowing his or her personal Social Security record to accumulate work credits and/or higher earnings until the age of 70.
At 70 years of age, the Social Security beneficiary could take the larger of the two Social Security retirement benefits. Of course, the spouse who requested suspension of benefits could accumulate Social Security earnings credits as well. People born before 1954 were allowed to continue the file-and-suspend strategy. However, it’s important to note that the spouse’s Social Security earnings used to calculate the spousal benefit must also draw Social Security benefits. It’s no longer possible to allow a spouse or dependent to draw benefits from the primary Social Security beneficiary’s record if that person’s benefits are currently suspended.
It’s important to stay up-to-date about Social Security. Elimination of the once popular file-and-suspend option changed the way many retirees used Social Security spousal benefits.