Social Security is confusing enough for one person. For married couples, the options are often even more complicated, with spousal benefits and survivor benefits potentially coming into play.
Sometimes adding to this confusion is a 2015 federal law that changed the process of how some lower-earning spouses apply for benefits. This was the case for Money Talks News reader Stevie B.
Stevie asks:
“I am 71 years old, retired and have been receiving Social Security since I was 65. The benefit I receive is not very large due to a spotty work history. My husband is 66, still employed and plans to file for Social Security at age 70. He is entitled to a much larger benefit than I am. My understanding of the law is that I can apply for half his benefit instead of mine, but only if he receives it Is that correct? In other words, I have to wait until he is 70 and applies for his benefits before I can switch from my benefits to half of his?”
It’s true that a married person can generally collect up to half of his spouse’s full Social Security retirement benefit (that is, the amount he would receive if he were claiming at full retirement age) if his own benefit is lower. However, most people cannot first collect their own benefit and then apply for their partner benefit at a later time. At least not anymore.
Under current law, when someone in your situation reaches full retirement age and applies for their own benefits, the Social Security Administration (SSA) reviews both amounts to determine which amount is higher:
- The applicant’s own retirement benefit (i.e. the benefit amount the applicant would be eligible for based on their own earnings data)
- The applicant’s spousal benefit (i.e., the benefit amount the applicant would be eligible for based on the spouse’s income information)
This is known as dear submission and applies to anyone who turned 62 on or after January 2, 2016. It results from the 2015 amendment to the federal law.
A person cannot first apply for a lower benefit amount and then reapply for spousal benefit at a later age, unless he or she was born before that date.
So Stevie, if your own benefit was less than half of your spouse’s full retirement benefit when you first filed, SSA would have combined your benefit amount with an additional amount to bring your benefit to half of your spouse’s.
Deemed filing means that when you file for your own benefit, you are “deemed” to have filed for your own benefit and that of your spouse at the same time. SSA will therefore automatically give you the higher of the two amounts at that time.
Since you are already receiving your benefits and are over age 70, it is likely that you are already receiving the higher benefit under the deemed benefit rule. If you are unsure how your benefits are calculated, contact a Social Security representative for more information about how your benefit amount is determined.
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