Can I get half of my husband's Social Security benefits while he keeps his full amount?

You're absolutely correct, and your husband is mistaken. When you claim a spousal benefit (which is up to 50% of your husband's Primary Insurance Amount), it has zero effect on his own benefit amount. He continues to receive his full benefit regardless of what you claim. A couple of important things to note: 1) If you claim before your Full Retirement Age (FRA), your spousal benefit will be reduced. 2) You cannot claim only the spousal benefit while letting your own benefit grow - SSA will pay your own benefit first, then top it up to the spousal amount if that's higher. Show your husband this thread and hopefully it will settle your debate!

i went thru this with my wife last year ur 100% right he gets his full amount no matter what u do. its ur choice if u want ur own benfit or half of his if thats more. my wife got more on her own so we didnt do the spouse thing but i know ppl who did

Let me clarify this further for you with some technical details: When you claim benefits based on your husband's record, what you're actually receiving is your own retirement benefit PLUS a supplement to bring the total up to 50% of his Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). Here's how it works: - If your benefit is $1,000 and his PIA is $2,600 - 50% of his PIA would be $1,300 - You would get your $1,000 + a $300 spousal supplement This is completely independent of what he receives. His benefit remains exactly the same whether you claim on his record or not. The Social Security Administration specifically designed the system this way to support non-working or lower-earning spouses without penalizing the higher earner. So yes, you are right and your husband is wrong on this specific point.

Not to confuse things, but there ARE situations where one spouse's claim affects the other spouse's benefit. For example, if one of you files for benefits and the other is eligible for spousal benefits, the other spouse can receive those spousal benefits. Also, survivor benefits work differently than what you're describing. Maybe your husband is thinking of a different scenario?

My husband thought THE EXACT SAME THING!!!!! Men, I swear. Show him this thread and tell him Steve from Minnesota says he needs to trust his wife more often LOL

I actually called the Social Security Administration about this exact question last month. It took me FOREVER to get through to an actual person. Like, I called for 3 days straight and kept getting disconnected. So frustrating! But when I finally spoke to someone, they confirmed exactly what you're saying. Your husband's benefit is completely unaffected by your decision to take the spousal benefit. You're making the right choice if half his benefit is more than your full benefit would be! BTW, if you need to talk to SSA yourself and are having trouble getting through, I found this service called Claimyr that got me connected to a real person in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours or days. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - totally worth it when you need to get specific questions answered!

One thing nobody has mentioned yet: when one spouse dies, the surviving spouse gets to keep the HIGHER of the two benefit amounts. So even if your own benefit is lower and you're currently getting the spousal benefit, if your husband passes away before you (statistically more likely), you'll get his full benefit amount as a survivor benefit. This is actually a really important part of Social Security planning that many couples overlook. The higher earner should usually try to delay claiming as long as possible (up to age 70) to maximize this eventual survivor benefit.

this happend to my sister too her husband was CONVINCED hed lose money if she took the spouse benfit thing. they even got in a big fight about it! men are so stubborn lol. show him this whole thred maybe hell believe all of us!!!!

I want to add one more technical point: When we talk about the "spousal benefit being 50% of your husband's benefit," it's actually 50% of his Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is the benefit he would receive at his Full Retirement Age. If your husband claimed early and took a reduced benefit, your spousal benefit is still based on 50% of his PIA, not 50% of his reduced benefit. Similarly, if he delayed and gets more than his PIA, your spousal benefit is still based on his PIA, not his increased benefit. This is a common source of confusion that might be contributing to your disagreement.

I work for Social Security (not giving official advice, just sharing general info) and can confirm you are 100% correct! Your husband's benefit is completely independent of what you choose to do with yours. The spousal benefit exists specifically to help couples where one spouse has a lower earnings record, and it was designed so the higher earner doesn't get penalized. Think of it this way - if claiming spousal benefits reduced the primary worker's benefit, it would actually discourage marriage and hurt families, which is the opposite of what the program is supposed to do. Your husband might be thinking of some other program or maybe heard misinformation somewhere, but for regular Social Security retirement benefits, his payment stays exactly the same whether you claim on your own record or his. Show him Publication 05-10084 "What Every Woman Should Know About Social Security" - it explains this clearly on page 7. Good luck convincing him! Sometimes it takes seeing it in writing from multiple sources.

As someone who just went through this exact situation with my own spouse last year, I can absolutely confirm you're right! My husband had the same misconception and was worried that my claiming spousal benefits would somehow reduce his monthly payment. After we both did our research and even spoke with a SSA representative, we learned that spousal benefits are completely separate from the primary worker's benefit. When I claim 50% of his benefit, it comes from a different "bucket" so to speak - his benefit amount never changes. We ended up going with the spousal benefit strategy since my work record was much lower than his, and it's worked out perfectly. He gets his full amount every month, and I get the spousal benefit, which is significantly more than what my own work record would have provided. The key thing that helped convince my husband was understanding that the Social Security system was specifically designed this way to support families and married couples. If claiming spousal benefits penalized the higher earner, it would actually hurt the very people the program is trying to help! Your husband will probably feel silly once he realizes he was wrong, but don't rub it in too much - we've all been there with Social Security confusion! 😊

I'm going through something similar with my spouse right now! We're both 62 and trying to plan our Social Security strategy. My husband keeps insisting that if I take spousal benefits, it will somehow "split" his benefit between us, but from everything I've read, that's not how it works at all. What really helped me understand this was thinking about it from the government's perspective - they WANT to encourage marriage and support families. If taking spousal benefits penalized the higher earner, it would actually discourage people from getting married or staying married, which goes against the whole purpose of having spousal benefits in the first place. I've been showing my husband all the official SSA publications, but sometimes hearing it from real people who've actually been through this process is more convincing than government documents. Thanks for asking this question - I'm bookmarking this whole thread to show him! Maybe seeing that multiple other husbands had the same misconception will help him realize he's not alone in being confused about this.

I'm a newcomer here but had to chime in because this exact same scenario played out in my family! My aunt and uncle went through this identical debate about 3 years ago when they were planning their retirement. My uncle was absolutely convinced that if my aunt claimed spousal benefits, it would reduce his monthly payment. They actually ended up going to their local Social Security office together because they couldn't agree, and the representative there confirmed exactly what everyone here is saying - the spousal benefit has zero impact on the primary worker's benefit. My uncle was pretty embarrassed afterward, but at least they got it sorted out! What's interesting is that after reading through all these comments, it seems like this is a really common misconception among husbands specifically. I wonder if there's some piece of misinformation floating around, or if it's just that the Social Security system is so complex that people fill in the gaps with assumptions that seem logical but aren't actually correct. Anyway, you're definitely right, and I hope showing your husband all these responses from people who've actually been through this helps convince him! Sometimes it takes a village to overcome stubborn misconceptions. 😊

I'm new to this community but had to jump in because my wife and I literally just resolved this exact same disagreement last month! I was absolutely certain that if she took spousal benefits, it would somehow reduce my Social Security payment - I mean, it just seemed logical that if she's getting money based on MY record, it had to come from somewhere, right? Well, I was completely wrong. After spending way too much time arguing about it, we finally called the Social Security Administration (took forever to get through), and the representative patiently explained that spousal benefits are essentially a "floor" - they guarantee that the lower-earning spouse gets at least 50% of the higher earner's benefit, but it doesn't take anything away from the higher earner's payment. The way she explained it really clicked for me: imagine Social Security as having separate accounts. My retirement benefit comes from one account based on my work history, and if my wife qualifies for spousal benefits, that supplement comes from a completely different account. They don't interact with each other at all. Reading through all these responses, I'm honestly a bit embarrassed that this seems to be such a common misconception among husbands! But hey, at least we're not alone in our confusion. Your husband should definitely read through this thread - sometimes hearing it from multiple real people who've been through the process is more convincing than official government publications. You're absolutely right, and once your husband understands how it actually works, you'll both be able to make the best decision for your family's financial future. Good luck!

I'm new to this community but wanted to share my experience since it's so relevant to your situation! My husband and I went through this exact same debate about 6 months ago when we were doing our Social Security planning. He was absolutely convinced that if I claimed spousal benefits, it would somehow reduce his monthly payment. After reading through all the official SSA materials and still not being able to convince him, I finally made an appointment at our local Social Security office. The representative there was incredibly patient and explained it using a really helpful analogy: Think of Social Security like a library with different sections. My husband's retirement benefit comes from the "individual benefits" section based on his work history, while spousal benefits come from an entirely separate "family benefits" section. Taking a book from one section doesn't affect what's available in the other section. She also mentioned that this is one of the most common misconceptions they encounter, especially among married couples planning for retirement. Apparently, the logic of "if money is coming out based on my record, it must be reducing my payment" seems really reasonable to a lot of people, but that's just not how the system was designed to work. Your husband is definitely not alone in thinking this way, and once he understands the actual mechanics, I'm sure he'll come around. The Social Security system specifically created spousal benefits to support families without penalizing anyone - it's actually a really well-thought-out feature once you understand how it works!

I'm new to this community but had to share my story because it's so similar to yours! My husband had the EXACT same misconception and we went through months of back-and-forth about this. He was absolutely convinced that if I took spousal benefits, his Social Security check would be smaller. What finally convinced him was when I found the actual SSA regulation that explains this - it's in 20 CFR 404.330 if you want to look it up. The regulation makes it crystal clear that spousal benefits are paid independently and don't affect the primary worker's benefit amount at all. I also discovered that this misconception is so common that the SSA actually has a specific FAQ about it on their website! Under "Frequently Asked Questions" they directly address the question "Will my spouse's benefits affect my Social Security benefits?" and the answer is a clear NO. Your husband might also be reassured to know that spousal benefits have been part of Social Security since 1939, and if they reduced the primary worker's benefit, millions of couples would have figured that out by now and stopped using them! The fact that spousal benefits are still widely used should tell him that they don't penalize the higher earner. Show him this entire thread - sometimes hearing from real people who've been through the exact same situation is more convincing than government documents. You're absolutely right, and once he understands how it actually works, you'll both be able to move forward with confidence!

I'm new to this community but wanted to add my voice to this discussion because my spouse and I literally went through this exact same argument just a few months ago! I was completely convinced that if my wife claimed spousal benefits based on my record, it would somehow reduce my monthly Social Security payment. It seemed so logical - if she's getting money "from" my benefit, where else would it come from? Well, I was totally wrong, and honestly pretty embarrassed once I learned how it actually works. What finally clicked for me was when someone explained that Social Security spousal benefits aren't taken FROM the primary worker's benefit - they're paid IN ADDITION TO it from the general Social Security fund. It's like the government saying "we want to make sure married couples have adequate retirement income, so we'll guarantee the lower-earning spouse gets at least 50% of what the higher earner gets, without penalizing anyone." The key thing that helped me understand: your husband's benefit is calculated based on HIS work history and earnings record. That calculation doesn't change regardless of what you decide to do. Your spousal benefit, if you choose it, is calculated separately and paid separately. They're completely independent of each other. Reading through all these responses, it's clear this is an incredibly common misconception among husbands (myself included!). Your husband should definitely read through this entire thread - sometimes hearing from multiple real people who've been through the same experience is more convincing than official government documents. You're absolutely right, and once he understands the mechanics, you'll both be able to make the best decision for your family!

I'm new to this community but wanted to share my perspective as someone who works in retirement planning. You are absolutely 100% correct, and this is honestly one of the most common misconceptions I encounter with married couples planning for Social Security. Your husband's benefit is based solely on his own earnings record and remains completely unchanged regardless of what you choose to do. When you claim a spousal benefit, you're not "taking" anything from his benefit - you're accessing a separate benefit category that Congress specifically designed to support lower-earning spouses without penalizing the higher earner. Think of it this way: if spousal benefits reduced the primary worker's payment, it would actually discourage marriage and hurt families, which is the exact opposite of what Social Security was designed to do. The program was created to strengthen family financial security, not weaken it. I've seen countless couples go through this exact debate, and the husbands are always a bit sheepish once they realize how it actually works. Show him this thread - sometimes hearing it from multiple real people who've navigated this successfully is more convincing than official documents. You've got this!

I'm new to this community but had to jump in because this thread is like reading about my own marriage! My husband was EXACTLY the same way - absolutely convinced that if I claimed spousal benefits, his Social Security would be reduced. We probably argued about this for two solid months before I finally got him to understand how it actually works. What really helped was when I explained it like this: Social Security has different "programs" within the overall system. His retirement benefit comes from one program based on his work history. Spousal benefits come from a completely separate program designed to help families. They don't interact with each other at all - it's like having separate bank accounts. The breakthrough moment was when I asked him: "If spousal benefits hurt the higher earner, why would the government even offer them? Wouldn't that discourage people from getting married?" That's when it finally clicked for him that the whole point is to HELP families, not penalize anyone. You're absolutely right, and reading through all these responses shows just how common this misconception is among husbands! Show him this entire thread - I guarantee he'll feel a lot less stubborn once he sees how many other men have had to eat humble pie on this exact same issue. Good luck! 😊