The question comes up often among couples nearing retirement: can one spouse claim spousal benefits now and later switch to a higher personal benefit at age 70?
For most Americans, the answer is no, and understanding why requires a close look at how Social Security rules have evolved over the past decade.
A strategy once popular among married couples involved filing a restricted application for spousal benefits, allowing personal retirement credits to grow in the background.
Under that approach, the lower-earning spouse would collect 50% of the higher earner’s benefit while their own delayed retirement credits continued to accumulate until age 70.
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 effectively ended that strategy for most workers, limiting the restricted application option to those born on or before January 2, 1954.
Anyone born after that date is now subject to deemed filing rules, which require applicants to claim all available benefits simultaneously when they file.
Under deemed filing, the Social Security Administration automatically considers both spousal and personal benefits at once, paying out whichever combination results in the higher total monthly amount.
Spousal benefits are calculated at up to 50% of the higher-earning spouse’s full retirement age benefit, not their age-70 benefit, which is an important distinction many filers miss.
Claiming spousal benefits early, at age 62 rather than at full retirement age, reduces the spousal payment to just 32.5% of the higher earner’s full retirement age benefit amount.
It is also worth noting that spousal benefits do not increase if the higher-earning spouse delays claiming past their own full retirement age, though the recipient must wait until their spouse actually files before collecting.
For the spouse with the larger earnings record, delaying Social Security from age 62 all the way to age 70 can increase their monthly payment by as much as 8% per year through delayed retirement credits.
That delay strategy carries significant long-term value, because it also raises the survivor benefit the remaining spouse would receive if the higher earner dies first.
Couples approaching retirement age should carefully evaluate both spouses’ earnings histories, health outlooks, and financial needs before deciding when each person should file.
Given the complexity of these rules, consulting a financial planner or Social Security specialist before making any filing decisions can help households avoid costly and irreversible mistakes.
