Social Security spousal vs survivor benefits - what happens when spouse waits until 70?
Hi everyone, I'm trying to figure out how my claiming strategy affects my wife. I recently met with a financial advisor who suggested I delay claiming SS until 70, but I'm confused about how this impacts spousal and survivor benefits. If my full retirement age (67) benefit would be $2,750/month, and my age 70 benefit would be approximately $3,465/month due to delayed retirement credits, I need to understand: 1. If I wait until 70 to claim, what would my wife's spousal benefit be based on? Would she get 50% of my FRA amount ($1,375) or 50% of my age 70 amount ($1,732.50)? 2. For survivor benefits (not that I'm planning to die soon!), would my wife receive my full age 70 benefit of $3,465 or just my FRA amount if I pass away? My wife is 2 years younger than me and hasn't worked enough to qualify for her own SS benefit. We're trying to maximize our household income both now and if something happens to either of us. Thanks for any help explaining this!
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CosmicCowboy
Your spousal benefit question is a common one. The spousal benefit is always based on your FRA amount (67), not your enhanced amount at 70. So your wife would receive 50% of $2,750, which is $1,375 (assuming she claims at her full retirement age). The survivor benefit, however, is a completely different story. If you pass away, your wife would receive your ACTUAL benefit amount at the time of death. So if you've delayed until 70 and are receiving $3,465, that's what she would get as a survivor benefit (minus her own benefit if she's receiving one). This is why many financial advisors recommend the higher-earning spouse delay benefits until 70 - it creates a much higher survivor benefit.
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Oliver Becker
•That makes sense, thank you! So there's no spousal benefit advantage during my lifetime if I wait until 70, but there is a big survivor benefit advantage if I die first. That's helpful to know for our planning.
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Natasha Orlova
The previous answer is right but I want to add something important - if your wife claims the spousal benefit before HER full retirement age, it will be reduced. So if she's only 65 when she claims the spousal benefit based on your record, she won't get the full 50% of your FRA amount. The reduction is about 0.69% per month early. And just to be super clear on the survivor benefit - she would get your FULL delayed retirement amount ($3,465) only if she claims the survivor benefit at her full retirement age or later. If she claims the survivor benefit early, it would be reduced.
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Javier Cruz
•My mom got caught by this! She didn't know about the reduction for claiming spousal early and took it at 62. Big mistake, she only got like 32.5% instead of 50%!
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Emma Thompson
Im in almost EXACT same situation!! But when I called social securty they kept me on hold for 2 HOURS and then hung up on me!!! So frustrating trying to get answers from SSA directly. Has anyone actually talked to them about this spousal/survivor stuff recently?? The website is so confusing and says different things on different pages, I swear.
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Malik Jackson
•I had the same issue with endless hold times, but I found a service called Claimyr that got me through to an SSA agent in under 20 minutes. They basically call SSA for you and when they get through, they connect you. I was skeptical at first but it worked great - saved me hours of frustration. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU or check out their website at claimyr.com
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Isabella Costa
just want to point out that those numbers seem really high to me... are you sure your FRA benefit would be $2750? that's way above average. not saying you're wrong but double check your statement on the mySocialSecurity site. i thought i was getting more too but my estimate was wrong
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Oliver Becker
•You're right to question it! I rounded my numbers up a bit for simplicity. My actual FRA estimate is closer to $2,680 according to my last Social Security statement. I've been fortunate to have a good income throughout my career.
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StarSurfer
Something no one mentioned - if your wife HAS worked enough to qualify for her own benefit (even a small one), the spousal benefit gets complicated. She doesn't get her own PLUS 50% of yours. She gets the HIGHER of either her own or the spousal benefit. But with survivor benefits, she can switch to the higher amount when you pass away. Social Security rules are ridiculously complicated!
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CosmicCowboy
•That's a good point, but OP did mention his wife hasn't worked enough to qualify for her own benefit. But you're absolutely right about the complexity - the deemed filing rules trip up a lot of people.
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Oliver Becker
Another question - if my wife claims her spousal benefit at her FRA (which would be 67 for her), but I haven't claimed yet because I'm waiting until 70, can she still get her spousal benefit? Or does she have to wait until I file for my benefits?
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CosmicCowboy
•She cannot receive a spousal benefit until you file for your retirement benefit. This is one of the trade-offs of the delayed claiming strategy. However, there's a potential workaround called "file and suspend" that used to allow this, but that loophole was closed in 2016 by the Bipartisan Budget Act. Now you must actually be receiving benefits for your spouse to collect on your record.
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Javier Cruz
My husband and me were just talking about this! Do you guys have a financial advisor who specializes in SS? Our regular investment guy doesnt really know all these complicated rules. Makes a big difference to get the right advice!
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CosmicCowboy
•Look for a financial advisor who has the RSSA certification (Registered Social Security Analyst) or at minimum a CFP who specializes in retirement income planning. Many investment-focused advisors don't have deep knowledge of Social Security's complex rules.
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