Social Security spousal benefits: Can I get half of husband's $4000 benefit plus my $333 at FRA?

You won't get both your full benefit AND half of his. The spousal benefit is calculated as the greater of your own benefit OR up to 50% of your spouse's primary insurance amount (PIA) at his full retirement age. Since half of his $4,000 would be $2,000, and that's more than your $333, you'd receive approximately $2,000 as your total monthly benefit. You don't get to add them together.

To add some clarity: when you apply for retirement benefits, SSA will automatically check if you qualify for higher benefits as a spouse. Your total benefit will be your own retirement benefit ($333) plus a "spousal top-up" to bring you to approximately 50% of your husband's PIA (about $1,667 additional), for a total of around $2,000. Make sure your husband has already filed for his benefits before you apply for spousal benefits - that's a requirement!

Actually, there's a bit of misinformation here. The way the SSA calculates spousal benefits is that you receive your own benefit first, and then they add a supplemental amount to bring your total up to the 50% of your spouse's PIA if that amount is higher. So technically, you're receiving both, but the end result is that you get the higher of either your own benefit or up to 50% of your spouse's. In your case, you'd get your $333 plus an additional $1,667 to total $2,000. The result is the same, but it's calculated as a supplement, not an either/or situation.

OMG i just went thru this EXACT thing with my husband!! The SSA people kept giving me different answers every time I called!! So frustrating!!! What I learned was you don't get BOTH - you get the higher amount. For me that was half of my husbands. BUT they do consider it AS IF you're getting your own benefit plus a supplement, which matters for some tax stuff. Also, make SURE your husband has already filed for benefits or you can't get the spousal benefit!!!!!

When you're dealing with spousal benefits, timing is everything. While waiting until your FRA to claim spousal benefits will get you the maximum 50% of your husband's PIA, claiming earlier would permanently reduce that percentage. Also, keep in mind that your husband MUST file for his own benefits before you can receive spousal benefits based on his record. This is a common point of confusion that trips many couples up in their retirement planning.

I had a similar situation but my own benefit was higher than half my wifes so I just got mine. Just wanted to say try using claimyr.com to reach SSA by phone. I was trying for weeks to get through then used their service and got connected to someone at SSA in like 15 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me so much frustration!

my aunt just went through this. at FRA she got exactly half her husbands benefit which was way more than her own. she said the SSA rep told her the easy way to think about it is you get the bigger amount, not both. also don't forget the medicare premium will be taken out of whatever amount you get unless you arrange to pay it directly

One other important thing to consider: if your husband delays claiming past his FRA to increase his own benefit (up to age 70), your spousal benefit would still be based on 50% of his PIA at full retirement age, not 50% of his increased benefit. So there's no advantage to you for him to delay filing beyond his FRA if you're planning to claim a spousal benefit. This is another area where couples often misunderstand the rules.

After reading all these comments, I'd suggest you have a one-on-one consultation with a financial advisor who specializes in Social Security claiming strategies. With a significant difference between your benefit amounts, proper timing could make a substantial difference in your lifetime benefits, especially considering survivor benefits down the road. While the spousal benefit won't increase if your husband delays claiming, survivor benefits would be based on his actual benefit amount including any delayed retirement credits.

Just wanted to add my experience as someone who recently navigated this! I was in a very similar situation - my own benefit was around $400/month and my husband's was $3,800. The key thing that helped me understand it was when the SSA representative explained that you essentially get "topped up" to the higher amount. So you're not losing your own work credits - they're still there as the foundation - but you get supplemented up to that 50% spousal amount. Also, definitely recommend keeping detailed notes when you talk to SSA reps because I got slightly different explanations from different people, which was confusing. The bottom line for me was getting about $1,900/month total (50% of his PIA) instead of my $400. Make sure you understand the timing requirements too - I had to wait until after my husband filed, but once he did, the process was pretty straightforward. Good luck!