Two Smart Social Security Claiming Strategies Every Married Couple Should Know

Being married and eligible for Social Security gives you many choices for claiming benefits. 

Both you and your spouse can claim benefits as early as age 62. If you don’t want your benefits reduced, you can wait until full retirement age (FRA) to file for Social Security, which is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later. And if you want boosted checks, you can delay your claim past FRA. 

For each year you wait to claim Social Security, your benefits increase 8% on a permanent basis until you both reach the age of 70. At that point, there is no sense in waiting to file. 

The nice thing about being eligible for two sets of benefits is that it gives you more options. Here are two smart filing strategies to consider if you’re married.

Strategy 1: Have the higher earner delay their claim

Delaying Social Security means having to wait longer to start enjoying that money. This means it is not necessarily an easy thing. However, it often makes sense to have the higher earner in a couple delay their claim for two big reasons.

First, if the higher earner waits to file for benefits, that 8% yearly boost will be worth more than it will for the lower benefit. 

If you’re the higher earner in your household and are entitled to $2,500 a month in Social Security, waiting until age 70 boosts your benefits by $600 per month. If the lower earner is entitled to $2,000 a month, waiting until age 70 only boosts their benefit by $480.

Secondly, if the higher earner delays their claim, it could leave the lower earner with larger survivor benefits. If you’re the higher earner and are a lot older than your spouse, or if your health is worse than theirs and you think they will outlive you, that’s a good reason to hold off on claiming Social Security until age 70. 

Strategy 2: Have both spouses delay their claim

Having both spouses delay Social Security means that at least one of you may potentially need to work longer, unless you have a large amount of savings to use until those benefits start coming in. But having both spouses delay means larger checks for both of you on a permanent basis, which could lead to a lot more long-term financial security.

If both spouses are in great health and have a family history of living until a late age, getting larger Social Security benefits could be a protective move. That’s because those benefits are guaranteed for life and are adjusted for inflation every year.

You may have savings and other income streams that could run out over time or that don’t get an inflation adjustment. So if you set yourselves up with larger Social Security benefits and end up living until your 90s, you may have fewer financial worries as you age. 

Also, if you and your spouse do end up living until your 90s, you may eventually incur a large amount of healthcare expenses. Having larger Social Security benefits to collect could make it easier to absorb those costs.