Social Security benefits while married

The Social Security decision you might regret if you’re married

Social Security can be a tricky situation because there are many factors that go into Social Security that can’t necessarily be determined such as how long you will live and how long your spouse will live. Social Security gives you many options on the age that you can decide on claiming your benefits, but it can also affect the amount of benefits that you receive. You can start claiming your Social Security Benefits at 62 years old or even as late as after 70 years of age. If you claim benefits before full retirement age, which is determined by your birth year (normally 66-67 years old), you face a permanent reduction in your monthly benefits. If you wait to receive you benefits till full retirement age, you receive the full amount of monthly benefits. If you delay your benefits past full retirement age, you can boost your benefits by 8% a year until the age of 70. After the age of 70, it is still possible to keep delaying benefits, but there is no financial benefit after that age. If you were not to live very long after retirement age, receiving your benefits at age 62 would make you more money than waiting until full retirement age or later to receive benefits. This would be great if you are single, but if you are married, that could leave your spouse in a bind. When you pass away, your spouse is entitled to survivor benefits of Social Security once they reach full retirement age. The amount that the spouse receives will be the full monthly benefit that you received while living. So if you starting receiving benefits at age 62, the spouse would receive the same reduced monthly benefit. If the spouse has little retirement savings and lives a long life, they would have to live on reduced monthly Social Security benefits until they pass away. Claiming benefits early may make you more, but leave your spouse will much less. So when you are deciding to take your Social Security benefits be sure to factor in your spouse if they are still living.