Knowing your rights when it comes to Social Security benefits can help you secure a better retirement, especially since more than 40% of baby boomers are counting on this federally funded plan to be their primary source of income for retirement. This figure comes from a report made by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies in 2023, so the numbers are fresh and prove just how much the recently retired will be dependent on Social Security for their long-term financial plans.
But it is not only retirees who can apply for Social Security benefits, their spouses, regardless of whether or not they work, may be entitled to their own spousal benefits that could help boost their retirement income. As of March 2024, the average spousal support payment is of $912 per month.
Factors to consider to collect spousal support
In general, to collect spousal support you must be married to a person who is entitled to either retirement or disability benefits, but that is just the entry barrier. To actually start collecting the spousal support you must:
- Be at least 62 years old. The minimum age at which you can begin to collect Social Security also applies to spousal support, but there are exceptions to this. If you are the caregiver to a child under 16 or a child who is a permanent dependent and who also receives their own Social Security payments, you may be able to receive spousal benefits at any age. Of course this is a case by case evaluation, so if you fit the bill, look up your options.
- Have a larger amount of Spousal benefit available than your own Social Security payment. Since now most spouses both work, sometimes the case is that your own Social Security benefits are higher than your possible Spousal support, which only amounts to 50% of your spouse’s benefit at his or her full retirement age (FRA). In this case, you would only be able to receive one payment, the higher of the two amounts, but the decision will be made for you, if your retirement Social Security pension is higher than the Spousal benefit, you will not qualify to receive the latter.
- Think through the age you would like to start collecting. While you can collect as soon as you turn 62, that is sometimes not the best course of action. Given that the payments are lower the earlier you begin to collect, waiting until full retirement age (FRA), in most cases 67 years old, will ensure you receive the maximum benefits you are entitled to. Unlike regular Social Security payments waiting past this age will not yield more money.
Divorced people can also collect Social Security
Getting married brings a lot of fiscal benefits for a couple and not all of them end with the dissolution of the union. Social Security benefits are one of them. Sometimes during a marriage, a spouse earns significantly less than their counterpart, hindering their retirement and this benefit tries to even out the playing field. To qualify for Divorce benefits you have to fulfill similar conditions, you must be at least 62 years old, and they must be higher than your own retirement benefits. But there are additional conditions:
- You cannot be remarried (even though your ex-spouse can be and can remarry as many times as they please)
- Your marriage to the person you are getting divorced benefits from must have lasted for at least ten years.
If you are worried about filing for this type of benefit, don’t be, as it will not affect your former spouse or their current partner’s ability to collect their own benefits.
Survivors benefits
The last recourse in Social Security benefits, they come when the partner with the higher pension passes away. In specific cases they can also be collected by other dependents like parents or children who were financially dependent on this pensioner. The amount is variable, but in general as a spouse you may be entitled to the full pension amount after their passing.