Confused about Social Security spousal benefits - is $1,911 really the threshold for excess top-off?
I'm trying to figure out if I understand how spousal benefits work correctly. My husband is retiring next year at his full retirement age and will receive about $3,200/month. I worked part-time most of my life raising our kids, so my benefit is only going to be around $1,400/month at my full retirement age. From what I've read, I think I qualify for a spousal benefit "top-off" since my own benefit is less than half of my husband's. But someone at my retirement planning seminar said that if your own benefit isn't less than $1,911 (half of the 2025 maximum FRA benefit of $3,822), then you don't get any spousal top-off. That doesn't sound right to me. Isn't the spousal benefit calculation based on my HUSBAND'S benefit amount, not the maximum possible benefit? So in my case, shouldn't I get a spousal top-off of $200 (half of $3,200 is $1,600, minus my own $1,400)? I'm so confused by all these rules and I have an appointment with SSA next month. I want to make sure I understand this correctly before I go in. Thank you for any help!
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Caleb Bell
The person at your seminar was definitely wrong. Spousal benefits are based on YOUR SPOUSE'S record, not some arbitrary maximum. The calculation is simple: you get the higher of either your own benefit OR up to 50% of your spouse's FRA benefit amount. In your case, you'd get your $1,400 plus a $200 "top-off" to reach $1,600 (which is half of your husband's $3,200). This assumes you're both claiming at your respective full retirement ages. The $1,911 figure they mentioned is just half of the maximum possible SS benefit for someone retiring at FRA in 2025. That number is irrelevant to your situation unless your husband happens to qualify for that maximum benefit (which very few people do).
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
•Thank you so much! That's what I thought, but I started doubting myself after that seminar. It's such a relief to have this confirmed. I was worried I might be missing out on that extra $200 a month, which would make a big difference for us.
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Danielle Campbell
The whole spousal benefit thing is SO CONFUSING!!! I went through this last year and the SSA people gave me THREE different answers when I called. First they said I'd get half my husband's, then they said I'd only get my own benefit, then the third person finally explained the "excess" benefit correctly. BTW the max FRA benefit changes every year with COLA adjustments so that $3822 number will probably be different by the time you actually file. The important thing is YOUR HUSBAND'S benefit amount, not the maximum possible benefit amount!!!
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Rhett Bowman
•This is exactly why I gave up trying to call SS and just used Claimyr instead (claimyr.com). They got me connected to an actual SSA agent in under 10 minutes after I spent DAYS trying to get through on my own. The agent I spoke with walked me through the exact same spousal benefit calculation the OP is asking about. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Worth it to actually get accurate information instead of waiting on hold forever or getting disconnected.
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Abigail Patel
wait so if my wife gets $2100 and i get $1200 do i get a topoff? half of hers would be $1050 which is less than mine so i guess no?
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Daniel White
•That's correct. Since your own benefit ($1,200) is already higher than half of your wife's benefit ($1,050), you wouldn't receive any spousal top-off. You'll just receive your own $1,200 benefit. The spousal benefit only provides additional money when half of your spouse's FRA benefit exceeds your own FRA benefit amount. In your case, you're already doing better with your own benefit.
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Nolan Carter
The other important thing to remember is that if you claim before YOUR full retirement age, both your own benefit AND the spousal top-off get reduced. So many people miss this part! If you claim at 62, you don't just get your reduced benefit plus 50% of your spouse's... the spousal portion gets reduced too.
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Natalia Stone
•I was about to add this same point. My wife claimed early at 63 thinking she'd still get the full spousal benefit later, and we were shocked when we found out both parts get reduced. Cost us about $300 a month for the rest of her life. Ask the SSA rep to show you the numbers with different claiming ages so you can see the difference. The reduction is permanent!
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
Thanks everyone for the helpful information! I have a follow-up question - does my husband need to be receiving his benefits already before I can claim the spousal portion? Or can I file for spousal benefits once he's eligible, even if he decides to delay his claim to increase his own benefit amount?
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Caleb Bell
•Great question. Your husband MUST have filed for his own benefits before you can receive spousal benefits. If he delays claiming past his FRA to earn delayed retirement credits, you cannot receive a spousal benefit until he actually files. However, an important clarification: the spousal benefit is still based on his Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) at his full retirement age, NOT the increased amount he gets by delaying. So if he waits until 70 to claim and gets, say, $4,224 (32% more than his FRA amount of $3,200), your spousal benefit would still be based on the $3,200 amount.
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Danielle Campbell
My friend works for SSA and she said there's ANOTHER wrinkle people miss!!! If you were born before Jan 2, 1954, there's this strategy called "restricted application" where you could claim JUST the spousal benefit at your FRA while letting your own benefit grow until 70!!! But they killed that option for anyone born after that date because it was costing the system too much money. TYPICAL GOVERNMENT taking away the good strategies!!!
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Daniel White
•That's correct regarding the restricted application strategy. It was eliminated for most people by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. Anyone born on or after January 2, 1954 is subject to the "deemed filing" rule, which means when you file for any benefit, you're deemed to have filed for all benefits you're eligible for. These changes were made to address funding concerns for the program. While it did eliminate some optimization strategies, it's important to remember that Social Security was primarily designed as a safety net, not an investment vehicle.
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Abigail Patel
my mom got confused about this too ended up leaving like $20k on the table over the yrs cause nobody explaind it right
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
OK, now I think I understand all this correctly. To summarize: 1. I'll get my own benefit ($1,400) plus a top-off to reach half of my husband's FRA benefit ($1,600 total). 2. The $1,911 figure is irrelevant to my situation. 3. My husband must file for his benefits before I can claim any spousal benefits. 4. If I claim before my FRA, both parts of my benefit get reduced. 5. The spousal benefit is based on my husband's FRA amount, not his actual payment if he delays. Did I get all this right? I feel so much more prepared for my SSA appointment now!
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Caleb Bell
•You've got it exactly right! Print out this summary and take it to your appointment. One last tip: when you do apply, specifically mention that you're applying for "all benefits you're eligible for" including retirement and spousal benefits. Sometimes if you don't explicitly mention both, they might not process the spousal portion right away, which can delay your full payment.
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