Ask Larry

Can My Husband Collect An Additional Amount As A Spouse?

I took my social security benefits at age 62. My husband who is younger than me now turned 66 in April 2021. Can he collect additional amount on spouse SS. I remember being told that spouse can also claim half of the amount.

Hi. Assuming that your husband was born after January 1 1954, he can't apply for spousal benefits without also applying for his own benefits at the same time. He could then only be paid essentially the higher of the 2 benefit amounts, so he'll only be eligible for spousal benefits if 50% of your primary insurance amount (PIA) is higher than your husband's own PIA. A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA).

Your husband may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze the options available to him in order to determine his best strategy for maximizing benefits.

Best, Jerry

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Posted: 
Jun 8 2021 - 7:21pm
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