Many married couples find navigating Social Security daunting, especially as it relates to understanding Social Security spousal benefits. Not only can you make Social Security claiming mistakes, but your decisions can potentially cost you large amounts of retirement income. Today, we’ll tackle how the spousal benefit works, how to maximize your benefit, and even discuss end of life survivor scenarios. We’ll even touch on benefits for a divorced spouse.
THE BASICS OF SOCIAL SECURITY - 3 SPECIFIC TYPES OF BENEFITS
There are three distinct Social Security benefits: 

Retired Worker Benefit - This is your benefit that can be claimed off of your own work record. I covered this topic in the podcast, Should You Take Social Security at 62.
Spousal Benefit - This is the topic we’re going to cover today. This is the benefit that becomes active once the primary worker’s benefit is activated. Not everyone will be eligible to receive this benefit (i.e. if your own working record is too high).
Widow(er) or Survivor Benefit - This the benefit that provides a surviving spouse with a benefit after the worker’s death.

While today’s podcast will cover this topic at a high level, I’d suggest watching our online on-demand Social Security class that we teach in person or you can even schedule a time to discuss your various options one-on-one with our office.
SO HOW DOES SOCIAL SECURITY WORK FOR SPOUSES?
A spousal benefit can add additional Social Security income to a household during retirement. It was created in a time when many women stayed home to raise children. It can be accessed even if a spouse never worked outside the home. To qualify, there are a few basic rules to understand.

You must be married for at least a year to claim the spousal benefit.
The primary worker must have filed for Social Security. This is much like a dam that lets water out of a reservoir. If the dam doesn’t let out water, there isn’t water in the river below the dam. It’s the same with Social Security spousal benefit. When the primary worker files his/her benefit the dam then releases water and the lower earning spouse can then access spousal benefits once they meet other criteria.
In most cases, to qualify for the spousal benefit, your own benefit that’s based on your own working record, can’t be greater than half of the primary worker’s PIA. PIA (primary insurance amount) is the amount that the primary worker will get when they claim Social Security at full/normal retirement age. 
Another way of saying this is the spousal benefit can be up to 50% of your spouse's PIA (not benefit amount). Knowing that the spousal benefit is based on your spouse’s PIA and not the benefit amount is an important distinction. For example, if the primary spouse starts Social Security at 62 and has a permanent reduction in their monthly benefit, that doesn’t impact the spousal benefit as it is based on the PIA of the primary worker, not when the primary worker filed for their benefits (while the spousal benefit isn’t impacted by when the primary worker files for their benefit, it does impact the survivor benefit when the primary worker passes away).

To illustrate, let’s say John and Jane have been married for 15 years. if John was the primary worker and his PIA benefit was $2,000, Jane would be eligible for up to $1,000 at full retirement age. She would not be able to claim a spousal benefit if John had not yet filed.

When Jane files, she would first get her benefit based on her own working record and then the spousal benefit would provide a boost up to 50% of John’s PIA. Say, for example, that Jane’s Social Security benefit on her own working record was $600 per month at full retirement age. When she takes her spousal benefit at full retirement age it could add another $400. If she doesn’t have a Social Security benefit based on her own work record she co...