Social Security spousal benefits - Will I get 50% of husband's age 70 amount or FRA amount?

Your spousal benefit will be based on your husband's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is the benefit amount he would receive at his full retirement age. It doesn't matter that he's waiting until 70 to claim - spousal benefits don't include the delayed retirement credits he'll earn by waiting. This is a common misunderstanding. The 50% spousal benefit is calculated using his FRA amount only. Your husband benefits from his delayed credits, but unfortunately, those increases don't factor into spousal benefit calculations.

i Think the other person is correct... my sister gets spousal and hers is based on her husbands FRA amount not his actual amount. she was super dissapointed when she found out but thats how it works i guess!!

The previous responses are correct. Spousal benefits are based on 50% of the worker's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is the benefit amount payable at Full Retirement Age, regardless of when the worker actually claims benefits. However, there are other important considerations in your situation: 1. If you have your own work record, you'll always receive the higher of either your own benefit or the spousal benefit 2. If you claim spousal benefits before your own FRA, they'll be permanently reduced 3. You can't claim spousal benefits until your husband files for his own benefits 4. Once your husband passes away, you may be eligible for survivor benefits, which DO include any delayed retirement credits he earned by waiting until 70 Considering these factors, it might make sense to claim your own benefits at FRA and then switch to survivor benefits later if they would be higher.

When my husband turned 70 last year, I learned this exact lesson the hard way. Been married 42 years and I worked part-time most of my life. Was counting on getting half his age 70 benefit but nope - just half of his FRA amount. Such a disappointment. My advice - definitely calculate both options (your own benefit vs spousal) because depending on your work history, your own might actually be better!

Has anyone here successfully gotten through to SS recently? I've been trying to ask a similar question for WEEKS and can't get a real person on the phone. It's beyond frustrating!!! Their website doesn't answer my specific situation either.

To answer your follow-up question - whether you should file on your own record at FRA - it really depends on your specific numbers. Since you've worked 25 years, you might find that your own benefit is close to or even higher than the spousal benefit. If your own benefit at FRA would be less than 50% of your husband's PIA, then waiting until he files at 70 to claim spousal benefits might make sense. But if your own benefit is higher, claim that when it makes sense for you. Remember that your own retirement benefit increases with delayed retirement credits too. So if your own benefit is close to the spousal amount, it might actually exceed the spousal benefit if you also wait to claim.

Just wanted to add on something important - even though spousal benefits are based on FRA amount, SURVIVOR benefits are different! When your spouse dies, the survivor gets the FULL amount the deceased was receiving, including those delayed retirement credits from waiting till 70. That's why many financial advisors suggest the higher earner delay till 70 - not for the spouse benefit but for the eventual survivor benefit.

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO CONFUSE US!!! Why can't they just make one simple rule instead of all these complicated exceptions and special cases?? No wonder their phone lines are always jammed with people asking questions.

Thanks everyone for all this helpful information! Based on your advice, I'll: 1) Get my most recent SS statement to compare my benefit to the potential spousal benefit, 2) Look at the difference between claiming my own benefit at FRA versus waiting, and 3) Factor in the survivor benefit protection my husband's delayed claiming provides. This has been so much more helpful than the generic information on the SSA website. Would anyone recommend meeting with a financial advisor who specializes in Social Security, or is that unnecessary?