Social Security Spousal Benefit: What Benefits Is Your Wife Or Husband Entitled To?

When can a husband or wife begin collecting his or her Social Security spousal benefit? A wife can begin collecting Social Security spousal benefits only when the following criteria are met:

1. The wife must be at least age 62

2. The husband needs to be eligible for benefits, therefore he should also be at least age 62. Furthermore, the husband will have to actually sign up for Social Security retirement benefits for his wife to collect based on his earnings. The husband may then choose to delay receiving benefits. This course of action is referred to as "file and suspend".

To offer an illustration, if the wife is 62 and the husband is 58, the wife can start receiving benefits based on her own income, but she can't collect based on her husband's income until he becomes 62 and applies for benefits.

Then again, if the wife is 66 and the husband is only 62, then the wife can start receiving calculated on her husband's earnings (again the husband needs to apply for his benefits before his spouse can collect based upon his income).

In both examples stated above, the wife can start receiving benefits calculated on her own income as early as age 62 (assuming she's got not less than 40 quarters and also qualifies for benefits on her own), then change to 1 / 2 of her husband's benefit once her husband qualifies for Social Security.

A few items to think about before applying for benefits:

If a wife applies for her Social Security spousal benefit based on her husband's earnings when she becomes full retirement age (age 66 for individuals retiring now), then she will collect half of her husband's primary insurance amount (PIA). However, if she applies at age 62, then her benefit will only be 35% of her husband's PIA.

It does not help the spouse to wait until after reaching full retirement age to apply for benefits, as spousal benefits do not include delayed credits. On top of that, it won't help the wife if the husband delays applying for benefits because she won't receive any rise in benefits that he will get by waiting to collect benefits.

If a spouse gets to full retirement age and becomes eligible for a spousal benefit or her own benefit, she may apply for the spousal benefit now and delay collecting her own benefit in order to accumulate delayed credits on her own benefit.

You can collect Social Security spousal benefits calculated on an ex-spouse's income as long as you were married for at least ten years and you are presently unmarried. In case you have more than one ex-spouse which you qualify pertaining to spousal benefits, you'll receive the highest benefit you are entitled to. One advantage that divorced spouses have over married spouses is that a divorced spouse doesn't need to wait around for a former husband to make an application for benefits as long as the pair is divorced for at least two years when she applies.

As a final point, the Social Security retirement system is gender neutral, so even though this article has assumed that the wife is usually the one applying for spousal benefits, if the wife earns more money than the husband, the husband can apply for Social Security benefits based on his wife's earnings.

Social Security Income: Tips To Help You Maximize Your Social Security Retirement Benefits
As you get closer to retirement, choosing when to take your Social Security may seem like rolling the dice. There are so many decisions to make, such as:

Are You Prepared To Start Saving For Retirement?
Getting ready for retirement is a lot harder than it used to be. Companies no longer offer pensions and many are reducing or eliminating matching contributions to 401K plans. In addition, Social Security benefits are expected to be smaller and you may have to wait longer to collect them.

Some Significant Particulars That You Require To Know About Social Security Spouse Benefits
When most people think about Social Security, they naturally think of retirement benefits. However about 1/5 of all Social Security benefits are spousal or survivor benefits, so when you're planning for retirement, it's important to consider the fact that you or your spouse may collect Social Security survivor benefits

Using Government Grants So That You Can Make Improvements To Your Home.
Being on the property ladder whether renting or owning your own home it can be a very expensive ordeal.

Some Of The Major Exceptional Roth IRA Withdrawal Rules Which May Help You To Take Money Out Of Roth IRA
Roth IRAs are governed by the IRS; as such there are many Roth IRA withdrawal rules that must be followed before you take money out of your account. In this article we'll discuss Roth IRA distributions; when they can be taken, when and if they are taxable, when and if penalties might apply.

3 Reasons To Use A Fee Only Financial Specialists
There are three different types of financial advisors: the commission broker who sells a product for a commission, the fee-based advisor who provides investment management for a percentage of the assets invested, and the fee only financial planner who provides a comprehensive financial plan for an hourly fee.

On The Subject Of Social Security Impairment: What You Must Know Ahead Of Filing For Disability Benefits
Most people think of retirement when they hear Social Security, however Social Security provides benefits to people who are disabled as well. The list of requirements that must be met for Social Security disability benefits is pretty long, and many people don't meet those requirements.

Three Ways A Financial Planner Could Help You Realize Your Very Own Financial Goals And Objectives
Many people wonder exactly what a financial planner does, and how they can help you. Here are just three ways a financial planner can help you achieve your financial dreams and goals.