Social Security is quite confusing for a person. For married couples, the options are often even more complex, potentially including spousal benefits and survivor benefits.
Sometimes that confusion is compounded by a 2015 federal law that changed the process for how some low-income spouses apply for benefits. That was the case for Money Talks news reader Stevie B.
Stewie asks:
“I am 71, retired and have been collecting Social Security since age 65. The benefits I receive are not huge due to poor work history. My husband is 66, still employed and plans to apply for Social Security at age 70. He will be entitled to a much larger benefit than me. My understanding of the law is that I can apply for 1/2 of his benefits instead of my own, but only once Is that correct? In other words, I should wait until he turns 70 before I can apply for his 1/2 of my benefits?”
It is true that a married person can generally collect half of their spouse’s Social Security full retirement benefit (meaning the amount they would have received if they had claimed at their full retirement age) if their own benefit is less. However, most people can’t collect their own benefits first and then apply for their spousal benefit amount later – at least not anymore.
Under current law, when someone in your situation reaches their full retirement age and applies for their own benefits, the Social Security Administration (SSA) reviews both amounts to determine which is greater:
- The claimant’s own retirement benefit (meaning the benefit amount for which the claimant would qualify based on his or her earnings record)
- Claimant’s spousal benefit (meaning the benefit amount for which the claimant would be eligible based on his or her spouse’s earnings record)
It is known as deemed filed And this applies to people who turned 62 on or after January 2, 2016. This stems from a 2015 change in federal law.
A person cannot first claim a lower benefit amount and then reapply for their spouse’s benefits when they are older, unless they were born before that date.
So, Stevie, if your own benefit was less than half your spouse’s full retirement benefit when you first applied, the SSA will combine your benefit amount plus an additional amount to bring your benefit up to half your spouse’s.
Deemed filing means that when you apply for your own benefit, you are considered to have applied for both your and your spouse’s benefits at the same time. Thus, SSA automatically gives you the higher amount of the two at that time.
Since you are already receiving your benefits and you are over 70 years of age, it is likely that you are already receiving higher benefits as per the deemed benefit rule. If you’re unsure about how your benefits are calculated, contact a Social Security representative to learn more about how your benefit amount is determined.