Will marrying boyfriend affect Social Security spousal benefits with large income difference?

YES he can get a spousal benefit if you get married! My brother just went through this. He makes way less than his new wife and he's getting a "top up" benefit. I think they have to be married at least 1 year before filing for SS. Not sure about the ex-spouse stuff though...the SSA website is SOOO confusing!!!!

To clarify some points here: Yes, your boyfriend could potentially receive spousal benefits based on your record if you marry, but there are several important factors to consider: 1. You need to be married for at least 12 months before he can claim on your record 2. He would only receive spousal benefits if you've already filed for your own retirement benefits 3. The maximum spousal benefit is 50% of your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) at your Full Retirement Age (FRA) 4. If he claims at 62-63, his spousal benefit would be permanently reduced (as early as 32.5% reduction) 5. The "spousal top-up" only occurs if 50% of your PIA exceeds his own benefit Regarding previous marriages: His prior marriage doesn't affect his ability to claim on your record. However, he might also be eligible for ex-spousal benefits from his former spouse if the marriage lasted 10+ years, he's unmarried, and his ex is 62+.

my sister got married at 60 and her husband gets part of her SS now that there retired. they had to be married 1 yr i think. but check with SSA to make sure!!!

One thing nobody's mentioning - if you get married now and your boyfriend qualifies for ex-spouse benefits from his previous marriage (assuming it lasted 10+ years), he LOSES those rights by remarrying. So he should check if his ex-spouse has higher earnings than you do before deciding. Sometimes staying unmarried but committed is financially smarter with Social Security!

I just went through this exact situation with my husband who has much lower lifetime earnings than me! The key things I learned: 1. We had to be married at least a year before he could claim on my record 2. I had to file for my own benefits first (which means I had to be at least 62) 3. The maximum he could get as a spouse was 50% of my full retirement age benefit 4. BUT since he claimed early (we both filed at 63), his spousal benefit was permanently reduced 5. He gets his own benefit PLUS the difference to reach the spousal amount The tricky part was actually getting someone at SSA to help us - tried calling for WEEKS and kept getting disconnected. Finally I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a real agent in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent explained everything and helped us apply for the spousal benefit at the same time as our retirement benefits. Made the whole process much easier!

To be very precise about the "spousal top-up" calculations: 1. Your boyfriend will receive his own retirement benefit based on his earnings record (reduced if claimed before FRA) 2. If 50% of your PIA (at your FRA) is higher than his own benefit at his FRA, he would receive a supplemental amount 3. Formula is essentially: Max(His benefit, 50% of your PIA) Example with made-up numbers: - Your PIA at FRA: $2,500 - 50% of your PIA: $1,250 - His PIA at FRA: $1,000 - Spousal "top-up" amount: $250 But remember, if he claims early, BOTH his own benefit AND the spousal benefit are reduced. At 62, his own benefit would be reduced to about 70% of PIA, and the spousal benefit would be reduced to about 35% of your PIA instead of 50%. Also worth noting: if you delay your filing beyond FRA to earn delayed retirement credits, those increases DON'T factor into his spousal benefit calculation.

i got married at 61 and wish i had known all this stuff before. make sure you both look at EXACT numbers because everyone on here is giving general advice but YOUR specific earnings records matter most. the SSA calculators online suck btw they never worked right for me

The most accurate way to estimate your specific situation is to: 1. Create my Social Security accounts online for both of you 2. Download your earnings records 3. Use the detailed calculator from SSA called "Anypia" (it's not user-friendly but it's accurate) Alternatively, you could schedule an appointment with a Social Security claims specialist and have them run projections for you. They can show you exactly how different filing ages and marriage timing would affect both your benefits. One timing consideration: If you marry shortly after turning 59, you'll satisfy the 1-year marriage requirement before earliest possible filing age (62).