Is my $1200 spousal benefit correct when husband gets $5300 at age 70?

Yes, you're right about the basic calculation, but there's more to it. Spousal benefits are based on 50% of your husband's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) at his FRA, NOT his age 70 increased amount. So if his FRA amount was ~$3,900, your full spousal benefit at YOUR FRA would be ~$1,950. BUT since you claimed at 62, you're getting a permanently reduced amount. The reduction for claiming a spousal benefit at 62 is about 30-35% depending on your exact FRA. So $1,950 reduced by ~35% would be around $1,270, which is pretty close to what you're getting. One other thing - if you had any small benefit on your own record, the spousal benefit is actually the DIFFERENCE between your own benefit and the spousal amount, not the full spousal amount. That might explain the rest of the difference.

my sister had the same problem !!!! she thought she was getting shortchanged BIG TIME on her spousal but turns out those early filing reductions are huge... she lost almost 32% by filing at 62 and thats PERMANENT 😱 cant go back and change it once u sign up

Something else to consider - the exact reduction percentages for spousal benefits are: - 5/9 of 1% for each month before FRA, up to 36 months - 5/12 of 1% for each additional month beyond 36 months So for a person with FRA of 66 and 4 months claiming at exactly 62, that's 52 months early, which calculates to a 35.833% reduction. Your calculation should be: 1. Take 50% of your husband's PIA (his benefit at his FRA, before delayed retirement credits) 2. Apply the reduction percentage based on how many months early you claimed 3. If you had any benefit on your own record, that affects the calculation too I'd recommend calling SSA directly to get a detailed breakdown of your specific calculation. Their online portal doesn't always show the detailed math.

There's one more factor that might explain your benefit amount. The family maximum benefit (FMB) could be limiting the total benefits payable on your husband's record. However, this usually only comes into play when there are multiple beneficiaries (like children) also collecting on the same record. Your $1,200 does sound about right given the early claiming reduction. Remember that while your husband's benefit increased by delaying until 70, spousal benefits do NOT get any delayed retirement credits. They're always based on the PIA at FRA, and then reduced if taken early.

mine was WAY off when they first calculated it... turned out they had wrong earnings years in the system!!! check ur SSA earnings record online to make sure everything looks right. i had to bring my w2s from 2003-2006 to PROVE i worked those years, ugh. they fixed it and my benefit went up $230/month!!

I called SSA this morning and finally got through after trying for days! The agent explained that my benefit is actually a combination of my own small retirement benefit plus a spousal supplement that brings the total to $1,200. The math works out exactly as you all explained! She said my own benefit at 62 was calculated at $320 (reduced from my PIA of about $500), and then they added a reduced spousal supplement of $880 to reach $1,200 total. The full spousal benefit would have been around $1,950 if I'd waited until my FRA. I'm kicking myself a bit for not waiting, but at the time we really needed the income. At least now I understand how they calculated it. Thank you all so much for your help!

Has anyone noticed that the SSA calculators online are TERRIBLE at explaining spousal benefits? They focus almost entirely on retirement benefits based on your own record. Their website barely mentions that spousal benefits don't increase past FRA! I spent HOURS researching this when helping my mother with her benefits. The most important details are buried in footnotes or completely missing!