When to apply for spousal benefits while I'm still working at FRA - timing question for April 2025

Your husband cannot apply for spousal benefits until you're actually entitled to your retirement benefits - not just when you apply. You should apply about 3 months before your FRA in April 2025, so around January. Once your application is approved, then your husband can apply for his spousal benefit. Yes, he can do this online through his own my Social Security account. Just be aware that if your husband is under his FRA when he applies for spousal benefits, they will be permanently reduced. If he's already at or past his FRA, he'll get the full 50% of your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount).

my wife n me did this last yr... you gtta wait til ur bennys are aproved first then he can aply... took like 2 months for my wife to get her first check then i applied online 4 spousal... got my first payment bout 6 weeks later... not to bad really but dont expect both to start same time

One important thing to note - since you're continuing to work full-time while collecting Social Security, make sure you understand that at FRA there is no earnings limit. This is good news for you! You can earn any amount without affecting your benefits once you reach your full retirement age. As for the spousal benefit application process, your husband will need your Social Security number and the date of your entitlement when he applies. He'll also need your marriage certificate (or at least the information from it), and possibly previous marriage information if applicable. There is typically about a 1-2 month lag between when you're approved and when he can successfully apply. The system needs to recognize you as entitled before it will process his application properly.

DONT MAKE THE MISTAKE I DID!!!! Make sure you BOTH create your my Social Security accounts NOW, not when you're ready to apply! My husband couldn't create his account when we needed to apply because of some identity verification issue, and we had to go to the local office which took FOREVER to get an appointment. Do it now while there's no pressure!

I've helped several friends through this process recently. Rather than waiting for your application to fully process, I'd recommend having your husband apply for spousal benefits about 2-3 weeks after you submit your retirement application. The SSA can link the applications together internally. If you're having trouble reaching the SSA by phone to check on application status (which is common), I recently discovered a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that connects you with a Social Security agent quickly instead of waiting on hold for hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - it saved me so much frustration when I needed to check on my application status. Worth considering if you run into phone issues with SSA.

Lol everyone here is so optimistic about the timeline. My husband and I went through this last year and it took FOUR MONTHS from when I was approved until his spousal benefits actually started paying out. The SSA is SWAMPED with applications. And yes technically he can apply online but in our experience the spousal application has way more issues than the regular retirement one. Prepare for delays and frustration!

Just to clear up a common misconception - there's no such thing as a "spousal top off" in the Social Security system's official terminology. What your husband will receive is technically called the "spousal benefit" which can be up to 50% of your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount). If your husband already qualifies for his own retirement benefit, he'll receive whichever is higher - his own benefit or the spousal benefit. The system automatically calculates this when he applies for the spousal benefit, so he doesn't need to make any special requests for the "difference" or "top-up" amount. The SSA will figure out the proper amount based on both your records.