Social Security family maximum benefit limit for married couples - does it apply to our household?
My husband and I are planning for retirement in 2025 (I'll be 67, he'll be 66). We've both worked our whole lives and have decent earnings records. Yesterday, my sister-in-law mentioned something about a 'family maximum benefit' that could limit how much we receive from Social Security as a household. This confused me because I thought that was only for families with dependent children receiving benefits? Our financial advisor never mentioned this, and we've been counting on both getting our full retirement benefits (roughly $2,800/month for me and $3,100/month for him). Is there really some cap on what married couples can receive combined? I can't find clear information about this on the SSA website. Does anyone know if there's a household maximum for married couples both claiming on their own work records?
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GalaxyGazer
Good news - there is no 'household maximum' that would limit what you and your husband can collect on your own work records. The family maximum benefit (FMB) only applies when multiple people are drawing benefits based on ONE person's earnings record (like when someone has dependent children or a spouse collecting on their record). Since you're both claiming retirement benefits based on your own separate work histories, you'll each receive your full benefit amount. The family maximum doesn't apply in your situation at all. Your sister-in-law might be confused about how the family maximum works. It's a common misunderstanding!
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Amina Sow
•Thank you for clearing that up! I was starting to panic because we've budgeted based on our combined benefits. So we should receive our full amounts ($2,800 + $3,100 = $5,900/month) without any reduction, correct?
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Oliver Wagner
my brother thought the same thing last year lol. but nope each of u get ur own $$ based on what u paid in. family max is when kids or spouse claim on ONE persons record.
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Natasha Kuznetsova
•Right but even if they were claiming on one record, the spouse benefit at FRA is 50% and wouldn't hit the family maximum anyway. Family maximum usually only kicks in when there are multiple children involved.
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Javier Mendoza
Your sister-in-law is confusing two different concepts. There is a Family Maximum Benefit (FMB) that limits the total amount paid on one worker's record when multiple beneficiaries are involved (typically when there are children receiving benefits). But there is NO limit on what two spouses can receive when they're both collecting on their own work records. If you have both paid into the system and earned your benefits separately, you will each receive your full benefit amount regardless of what your spouse receives. This is one of the advantages of dual-earner couples. To be completely clear: If your calculated benefit is $2,800 and your husband's is $3,100, you will receive a combined $5,900 monthly. No reduction will apply in this scenario.
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Emma Thompson
•Not exactly true tho. If one spouse dies, the other WONT get both payments. They'll only get the higher of the two. So eventually there IS a limit on what the household gets.
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Malik Davis
WRONG INFO getting posted here! I talked to SSA last year about this exact thing. There IS a max but it only applies in CERTAIN CASES!!! Not for u and ur husband if u both worked and claim on ur own records. But say if one of u didn't work and claimed spousal benefits (50% of the others benefit) PLUS had kids under 18 claiming benefits too. THEN the family max kicks in and they reduce everyone proportionally except the primary worker!! The max is like 150-180% of the worker's benefit depending on their PIA calculation. COMPLICATED STUFF!
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GalaxyGazer
•You're right about how the family maximum works, but I think your ALL CAPS might be confusing the original poster. To be clear to OP: in your specific situation (both spouses claiming on their own records), there is absolutely no family maximum that would reduce your benefits.
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Isabella Santos
I had to call Social Security about a similar question last month. Was on hold for over 2 hours! But I got the same answer others are giving - there's no limit for married couples both claiming on their own work records. Each of you gets your full amount. If anyone needs to actually speak with SSA and can't wait on hold forever, I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to a rep in about 15 minutes instead of hours. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - their website is claimyr.com. Saved me a ton of frustration when I needed to sort out my benefits question.
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Amina Sow
•Thanks for the tip! I've tried calling SSA before and it was impossible to get through. I'll check out that link if I need to call them to verify anything else about our benefits.
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Oliver Wagner
congrats on the good benefits btw! $5900 combined is pretty nice. my parents only get about $3200 total
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Amina Sow
•Thank you! We both worked high-earning jobs for 40+ years and maxed out our contributions for many of those years. It's a relief to know we'll actually receive what we've been planning for.
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Emma Thompson
Does anyone know when the family maximum DOES apply? My sister is disabled and her husband doesn't work, and they have 3 kids. They were told something about a family maximum when the kids applied for benefits on her record.
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Javier Mendoza
•That's exactly when the family maximum does apply. Since multiple people (your sister's husband and 3 children) are collecting benefits based on your sister's single work record, the family maximum would limit the total they can receive. The family maximum is typically between 150-180% of the disabled worker's benefit. Your sister's own SSDI benefit wouldn't be reduced, but the benefits to the dependents might be proportionally reduced to stay under the maximum.
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Natasha Kuznetsova
I just want to clarify something based on a comment I saw above. While there's no 'household maximum' for two people collecting on their own records, it IS true that if one spouse dies, the survivor doesn't get both full benefits. The survivor would get the higher of either their own benefit or their spouse's benefit, but not both. This is different from the family maximum concept, but it is a situation where a household's total benefits could decrease after a death.
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Amina Sow
•That's good to know. So while we're both alive, we'll get our full combined amount. But if either of us passes away, the surviving spouse would just get the higher of our two benefits ($3,100 in our case). That's important for our long-term planning.
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Javier Mendoza
Just to provide complete information: The Family Maximum Benefit formula is actually quite complex. It's calculated based on the Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) using a formula with bend points that change each year. For 2025, the formula follows these steps: 1. 150% of the first $1,556 of the worker's PIA, plus 2. 272% of the PIA over $1,556 through $2,246, plus 3. 134% of the PIA over $2,246 through $2,924, plus 4. 175% of the PIA over $2,924 But again, this only matters when multiple beneficiaries are claiming on one person's record. In your case, with both you and your husband claiming on your own separate work records, this formula has no impact on your benefits whatsoever.
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Malik Davis
•This is why I hate dealing with SS! So complicated even their own reps get confused sometimes. But appreciate the detailed breakdown.
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