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Q&A: Spouse gets the larger of two Social Security benefits, not both

March 10, 2025 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: Your recent column on the divorced couple where the ex-wife can apply for Social Security benefits has me wondering about my own benefits. I’m 60 and my husband is 79. Can I get his Social Security benefits, and if so, when should I apply? I am working and have worked all my adult life. He has an ex and was married to her for 11 years, so she is getting his and he is getting his. Do I qualify for his and also my own?

Answer: To repeat, Social Security is typically “either/or,” not “both.” When you apply for Social Security, your own retirement benefit will be compared with a spousal benefit based on your husband’s earnings record. You’ll get the larger of the two benefits. The spousal benefit can be up to 50% of your husband’s benefit at his full retirement age, not the amount he’s currently getting.

You can apply as early as age 62, but that means accepting a permanently reduced benefit. Also, early benefits will be subject to the earnings test, which withholds $1 for every $2 earned over a certain limit, which in 2025 is $23,400.

You won’t face the earnings test if you apply after reaching your full retirement age, which is 67. If you delay filing, your own benefit will continue to grow. It maxes out at age 70.

Figuring out the best time to apply can be complicated. AARP has a free calculator that may help, or you can use the more sophisticated paid versions at Maximize My Social Security.

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Filed Under: Q&A, Social Security Tagged With: claiming strategies, earnings test, Social Security, Social Security claiming strategies, spousal benefit

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Donald Davidson says

    March 16, 2025 at 1:22 pm

    You answered a tax question on parents leaving a large amount of cash that was in evelopes over 30 years of savings.
    You did not mention estate tax return for inherited assets.
    Cash would be reported on the estate tax return
    The threshold for the estate tax return is a lot larger than this cash asset.

    • Liz Weston says

      March 24, 2025 at 1:00 am

      That’s why I suggested contacting an estate planning attorney to see if the cash needed to be deposited in the name of the mother’s estate.

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