Ask Rusty Brought to you by Why Isn’t My Wife Getting Half of My Benefit? Dear Rusty, My wife isn’t getting half of my Social Security benefit amount. Shouldn’t she be? Signed, Feeling Cheated Dear Feeling Cheated, A spouse does not always receive 50 percent of the higher-earning spouse's Social Security benefit, because it depends on the age at which both of you claimed Social Security and whether your wife was entitled to benefits from her own life-time work record. benefit amount, will also be reduced if she claimed the spousal benefit before her FRA. to claim. This would again result in a spousal benefit less than 50 percent of your actual benefit. So, as you can see, a spouse doesn't always get half of the higher-earn-ing spouse's Social Security benefit. Your wife’s benefit will be less than 50 percent of your FRA benefit if she took any SS benefits before reaching her FRA. It will also be less than half of the benefit you are now receiving if you delayed past your own FRA to claim a higher benefit for yourself. If your wife is entitled to Social Secu-rity on her own work record and claimed that before she reached her full retirement age (FRA), she would never get half of your benefit amount as your spouse because she claimed her own benefit early. Your wife’s spousal benefit consists of both her own benefit and a “spousal boost,” so claiming her own reduced bene-fit early would also result in a lower spousal benefit. Her spousal boost, which was based on her FRA benefit amount compared to half of your FRA If your wife wasn't entitled to her own benefit (from her own lifetime work record) but instead claimed her spou-sal benefit from you before reaching her FRA, her spousal benefit will be permanently reduced, again because she claimed it before her full retire-ment age. A basic Social Security rule is that any time any Social Security benefit is claimed before FRA, that benefit is permanently reduced. The spousal benefit is based on each spouse's benefit amount at their FRA. So, for example, if you delayed beyond your FRA to get a higher personal benefit for yourself, your wife's spousal benefit would still be based on your FRA benefit amount, not the increased amount you received by delaying past your FRA Signed, Russell Gloor This article presents the opinions of the AMAC Foun-dation Staff and is intended for information purposes only. It does not represent legal or financial guidance. Have a Social Security question? Contact us at SSAdvisor@AMACFoundation.org or 888-750-2622 14 • AMAC Magazine
AMAC Magazine April 2021: Page 14
