Social Security benefits

Q&A: Spousal benefits require “one continuous year” of marriage

March 24, 2025 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: I want to apply for a benefit based on my spouse’s Social Security but how long do we have to have been married? I was not eligible until the Social Security Fairness Act changed the rules. We have been married for four years in May. I am not receiving Social Security benefits since I worked for over 30 years for the government and do not have enough credits to qualify based on my earnings.

Answer: You typically need to be married for “one continuous year” before applying for a spousal benefit, according to the Social Security Administration.

Had you divorced, the rules would be different. Divorced spousal benefits require the marriage to have lasted at least 10 years, and two years must have passed since the divorce.

For those who don’t know, the Social Security Fairness Act repealed the windfall elimination provision and the government pension offset that reduced or eliminated Social Security benefits for people who received pensions from jobs that didn’t pay into Social Security.

The Social Security Administration says most affected people will see their adjusted payments starting in April. Those who never applied for Social Security because of the old rules can do so now.

Q&A: Don’t rush to collect Social Security

December 9, 2019 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: I would like you to explain to us retirees why we should delay taking Social Security.

I have two tax preparers — and other people — who say delaying is a terrible idea. I’m in my 20th year of collecting Social Security, and I can assure you that people who delay are making a dreadful mistake. Please check this out!

Answer: Your tax preparers may have had a point 20 years ago, but a lot has changed since then, including life expectancies and prevailing interest rates. It’s unfortunate if your advisors haven’t kept up with copious research showing that delaying Social Security makes sense for most recipients.

One issue of particular interest to tax pros is the “tax torpedo.” That’s a sharp rise and then fall in the marginal tax rate caused by taxation of Social Security benefits. Researchers found the tax torpedo could nearly double the marginal tax rate for many middle-income families. People in the 22% federal tax bracket, for example, could see their marginal tax rate jump to 40% on a portion of their income.

Two decades ago, this would have been an issue for fewer taxpayers because most did not owe income tax on their Social Security benefits. Now more than half pay taxes on their benefits because Congress hasn’t updated certain income limits to reflect inflation.

The researchers found that delaying the start of benefits until age 70 and tapping retirement funds instead could reduce the tax torpedo’s effect. This approach not only maximizes Social Security benefits but also reduces the minimum amounts that must be distributed starting at age 70½. For more details, you can point your tax advisors to the July 2018 issue of the Journal of Financial Planning.

The National Bureau of Economic Research also has numerous papers on Social Security-claiming strategies, including “Recent Changes in the Gains from Delaying Social Security,” “Leaving Big Money on the Table: Arbitrage Opportunities in Delaying Social Security,” “The Power of Working Longer” and “The Decision to Delay Social Security Benefits: Theory and Evidence.”