A spousal benefit lets a husband or wife collect up to half of their spouse's full Social Security benefit, even if they never worked. The 50% figure is based on the worker's primary insurance amount (PIA), the benefit they'd get at full retirement age (FRA). You only get the full 50% if you claim at your own FRA, which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Claim at 62 and it drops to 32.5%. Unlike your own benefit, it doesn't grow if you wait past FRA. Here's how it's calculated, with tables, and the rules that trip couples up.
You can collect on your husband's or wife's record if all of these are true:
Your spousal benefit doesn't come out of your spouse's check. Their payment stays exactly the same whether you claim or not.
For someone with an FRA of 67, Social Security reduces the spousal benefit by 25/36 of 1% for each of the first 36 months you claim early, and 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond that. Your own retirement benefit is cut more gently and, unlike the spousal benefit, earns 8% a year in delayed credits after FRA. Here's how the two compare, plus a worked example for a worker whose PIA is $2,400 a month:
| Age you claim (FRA 67) | Spousal benefit, % of worker's PIA | Spousal benefit if worker's PIA is $2,400 | Your own benefit, % of your PIA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | 32.5% | $780 | 70% |
| 63 | 35% | $840 | 75% |
| 64 | 37.5% | $900 | 80% |
| 65 | 41.7% | $1,000 | 86.7% |
| 66 | 45.8% | $1,100 | 93.3% |
| 67 (FRA) | 50% | $1,200 | 100% |
| 68 | 50% | $1,200 | 108% |
| 70 | 50% | $1,200 | 124% |
Two things stand out. First, there's no reason for a spouse who's collecting only a spousal benefit to wait beyond FRA, since it stops growing at 67. Second, the reduction is permanent. Claim spousal at 62 and you're locked at 32.5% for life (unless you withdraw within 12 months and repay everything).
The percentage is based on the worker's PIA, not on what they actually receive. If your spouse claimed early at 62 and takes 70% of their PIA, your spousal benefit at your FRA is still 50% of the full PIA. And if they delay to 70 for 124%, your spousal benefit doesn't get any of that boost.
Then you don't get your own benefit plus half of your spouse's. Social Security pays your own benefit first and tops it up with a spousal "excess" only if half of your spouse's PIA is bigger than your own PIA. The top-up equals the difference.
Example: your spouse's PIA is $2,400 and yours is $800. Half of $2,400 is $1,200, which is $400 more than your own $800. At your FRA you'd get your $800 plus a $400 spousal top-up, for $1,200 total.
If you claim at 62 instead, each piece is reduced at its own rate. Your $800 becomes $560 (70%), and the $400 top-up becomes $260 (65% of it, the spousal reduction at 62). Total: $820 a month, instead of $1,200.
If your own PIA is already half of your spouse's or more, you get no spousal top-up at all. Your own record is simply the better one.
Not anymore, for almost everyone. Under "deemed filing," rules Congress passed in 2015 for anyone born on or after January 2, 1954, applying for one benefit counts as applying for every benefit you're eligible for at that moment. You can't claim spousal only and let your own benefit grow to 70, a strategy called a restricted application that's now gone for everyone in this age group.
There's one sequence that still works on its own: if you claim your own benefit before your spouse has filed, you'll get just your own. When your spouse later files, your spousal top-up starts automatically, reduced based on your age at that point.
Deemed filing doesn't apply to survivor benefits, which follow different rules (see below).
Yes, if the marriage lasted at least 10 years, you're currently unmarried, you're 62 or older, and your ex is entitled to retirement or disability benefits. The amount is calculated the same way, up to 50% of their PIA. If you've been divorced at least two years, you can collect even if your ex hasn't applied yet.
Your ex doesn't have to agree, isn't notified, and loses nothing. Several ex-spouses can each collect on the same worker's record without affecting each other or the worker's current spouse. If you remarry, you generally lose benefits on the ex's record (unless the later marriage ends).
| Spousal benefit | Survivor benefit | |
|---|---|---|
| When it's paid | While the worker is alive and has filed | After the worker dies |
| Maximum | 50% of the worker's PIA | 100% of what the worker was receiving (or entitled to) |
| Earliest age | 62 (any age with a child in care) | 60 (50 if disabled) |
| Grows if the worker delays past FRA? | No | Yes, delayed credits carry over |
| Deemed filing applies? | Yes | No, you can take survivor first and switch to your own later, or the reverse |
This is why the higher earner delaying to 70 is often the best move for a married couple. It doesn't raise the spousal benefit, but it does raise the survivor benefit, which is what the longer-living spouse ends up with for the rest of their life. Our guide on when to take Social Security walks through that trade-off.
No. The Government Pension Offset used to cut spousal and survivor benefits by two-thirds of a pension from work not covered by Social Security, such as many teachers' and police pensions. The Social Security Fairness Act, signed on January 5, 2025, repealed it along with the Windfall Elimination Provision, for benefits payable from January 2024 onward. If you were turned down or got a tiny spousal check because of it, check your current benefit with Social Security.
The earnings test does still apply. If you claim spousal benefits before your FRA and keep working, part of the benefit can be withheld. See can you work while collecting Social Security for the limits.
Up to 50% of your spouse's primary insurance amount, the benefit they would get at full retirement age. You get the full 50% only if you claim at your own full retirement age. At 62 it's 32.5% for anyone whose full retirement age is 67.
No, not while you're married. Your spouse has to file for their own retirement or disability benefit first. Divorced spouses are the exception: after two years of divorce, you can collect on your ex's record even if they haven't applied.
No. Your spouse's own benefit stays the same whether or not you collect a spousal benefit on their record.
No. Spousal benefits stop growing at your full retirement age, and they don't earn delayed retirement credits. If you're only eligible for a spousal benefit, there's no gain in waiting past full retirement age.
You get your own benefit plus a spousal top-up only if half of your spouse's full benefit is larger than your own full benefit. The top-up is the difference, so the total equals the higher of the two amounts, reduced if you claim early.