Social Security combining spousal and earned benefits - deposit dates confusing me

they combine it into 1 payment, you'll never even see the breakdown unless you look at your benefit verification letter. its all 1 deposit based on YOUR birthday not your wifes.

The previous response is correct - SSA combines any dual entitlement into a single monthly payment. Your payment date is determined by your own birthday, not your spouse's. To explain a bit more thoroughly: when you're eligible for both your own retirement benefit and a spousal benefit, SSA doesn't actually pay you both full amounts. They pay your own retirement benefit in full, then they add only enough of the spousal benefit to bring your total up to the higher amount (if applicable). For example, if your own benefit is $1,800 and your spousal benefit would be $1,000, you don't get $2,800. You get $1,800 (your own benefit). But if your own benefit is $1,000 and the spousal benefit would be $1,200, you'd get $1,200 total ($1,000 from your own benefit plus $200 partial spousal). This combined amount arrives as a single direct deposit on the schedule determined by your birth date (2nd, 3rd, or 4th Wednesday of the month).

@profile7 - Yes, your husband can potentially receive spousal benefits based on your earnings record even if he has little or no work history of his own. He would be eligible for up to 50% of your full retirement benefit amount (if he waits until his own full retirement age to claim). If he claims earlier than his full retirement age, the amount would be reduced.

Just want to add my experience - my husband receives a combined payment that includes both his own retirement benefit and a partial spousal benefit (since I was the higher earner). It comes as one single direct deposit on the 3rd Wednesday because his birthday is on the 16th. The deposit date is definitely based on HIS birthday, not mine. BTW if you're having trouble getting through to SSA to ask follow-up questions (their phone lines are TERRIBLE), I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) last month when I needed to sort out an underpayment issue. They got me connected to a real SSA agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours or getting disconnected. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU

SSA completely messed up my spousal benefit calculation when I applied last year!!! They didn't include my husband's military earnings in his PIA calculation which affected my spousal amount. Took SEVEN MONTHS to get it fixed and get backpay. Make sure you check your award letter carefully when you get it!!!

The payment schedule depends on your birthday: - Born on 1st-10th: Second Wednesday - Born on 11th-20th: Third Wednesday - Born on 21st-31st: Fourth Wednesday If you started receiving benefits before May 1997, you get paid on the 3rd of each month regardless of birthdate.

my dad gets his SS and then a seperate payment for his VA benefits. maybe ur thinking of something like that? SS is just one payment tho

btw make sure ur wife knows about the earnings test if shes only 62 and still working! they take back $1 for every $2 she earns over $22,320 in 2025 until she reaches her FRA

One thing to keep in mind - when you get your first combined payment, it might be prorated if you're starting mid-month. Don't panic if the first deposit looks lower than expected! SSA typically pays benefits for the month after you're entitled, so if you became eligible in February, your first payment in March might only cover part of February. The following month should be the full combined amount. Also, if there are any delays in processing the spousal benefit portion, they'll send you retroactive payments to make up the difference.

Hugo, I'm in a very similar situation - just filed at 67 and my husband has been collecting for a while. One thing I learned that might help you: when SSA processes dual entitlement cases like yours, there can sometimes be a delay between when your own retirement benefit starts and when they add the spousal portion. Don't be surprised if your first few payments are just your own retirement amount, and then you get a lump sum adjustment later once they finish calculating the spousal benefit. This happened to me - took about 6 weeks for them to sort out the spousal calculation and then I got a nice retroactive payment to make up the difference. The combined amount has been coming as one deposit ever since, right on schedule based on my birthday. Keep your paperwork handy in case you need to follow up!