How to apply for Social Security spousal benefits boost after already receiving for years?

Yes, this is something many people don't realize! The spousal benefit can sometimes provide a higher payment than your own retirement benefit. Since you're already receiving benefits and are past FRA, you should contact Social Security to see if you qualify for the "excess spousal benefit" - which is essentially the difference between your current benefit and up to 50% of your husband's PIA (Primary Insurance Amount). The basic formula is: If 50% of your spouse's PIA is higher than your own benefit amount, you could be eligible for the difference. For example, if 50% of your husband's PIA is $1,550, but your benefit is $1,850, you wouldn't qualify because your own benefit is already higher. But if 50% of his PIA was $2,000, you might be eligible for a $150 boost.

my sister went thru this last yr... she got an extra $237/mo added to her check after she asked about it!! nobody tells you this stuff, you have to ASK them about it specifically!!!

This is actually a fairly straightforward process, but SSA representatives should have explained it when you initially filed. The spousal benefit calculation is based on your husband's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is the benefit amount he would receive at his full retirement age - not what he's currently getting with any delayed retirement credits. If half of his PIA exceeds your own retirement benefit, you'd be entitled to an amount that would bring your total up to that 50% threshold. Since you've been collecting your own benefit for 10 years, any increase would be paid as a combination benefit. To apply, call SSA directly at 1-800-772-1213 and request a review for potential spousal benefits. Be prepared with both your SSNs and possibly your marriage certificate. Since you're already receiving benefits, this would be processed as an adjustment rather than a new application.

After reading about this same issue last month, I tried calling SSA about my own situation. Gave up after being on hold for 1.5 hours and then getting disconnected! So frustrating. Finally found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. The agent confirmed I was eligible for extra spousal benefits and processed it right away. Wish I'd known about this years ago!

I'm in almost the same boat as you! Been collecting my own SS since 62, husband has higher benefit, and we just found out about this "excess spousal" thing from our tax guy of all people. I'm confused though - does this mean I could have been getting more money all these years??? Will they pay me the back payments I should have gotten????

my understanding is if you started taking SSI at 62 you get a reduced amount permanently so thats probably why you didnt qualify for spousal at that time. but now that your both past retirement they recalculate it i think. good luck with the whole thing, everything with ssa takes forever these days.

Thank you all for the helpful information! I called SSA this morning but couldn't get through - kept getting a busy signal. I'll try again tomorrow, and maybe look into that Claimyr service if I keep having trouble. It's really frustrating that these benefits aren't automatic. I'll report back what I find out about my specific situation!

One more important thing to understand about spousal benefits: if your husband took his benefits early (before his FRA), his PIA is still based on his full retirement age amount. So even if he took a reduction by claiming early, the 50% spousal benefit calculation still uses his full PIA amount. Conversely, if he delayed claiming past his FRA and earned delayed retirement credits, those extra increases DON'T factor into your spousal benefit calculation. It's always based on 50% of his PIA at his full retirement age, regardless of when he actually started receiving benefits. This is why the actual math can get confusing, but the SSA should be able to perform this calculation for you once you reach them.

HAS ANYONE HAD SUCCESS getting retroactive payments for more than 6 months? This seems so unfair that they don't tell us about benefits we're entitled to!

Just to clear up a common misconception I'm seeing in this thread: The 6-month retroactive limit applies specifically to retirement and spousal benefits when filed after Full Retirement Age. For disability benefits (SSDI), retroactive benefits can go back up to 12 months from the application date. There are very few exceptions to these limits, even with appeals. The Social Security Administration operates under the assumption that beneficiaries are responsible for knowing and applying for benefits they're entitled to. If you find yourself in a situation where you believe you should have been receiving a higher benefit for years, you can request a formal appeal, but success is rare unless there was a clear SSA administrative error involved in your case.

Just wanted to share my experience with this. I was in a similar situation last year. My husband's benefit was much higher than mine, and I discovered I was eligible for additional spousal benefits. After I applied, it took about 2-3 weeks for the adjustment to show up in my bank account. The extra amount wasn't huge (about $320 per month), but it certainly helped with rising grocery prices! They only gave me 4 months of back pay though.