Many of the retirees depend on Social Security to make it a
primary source of income in retirement. In actuality, the system of the Social
Security was made and has been maintained in the form of a vital source of
income for almost retirees in the US, not just for those who worked by going
out of the home, but for those who are employed by sitting in their homes as
well. There are partners, who raise families and do other valuable jobs in the
society are qualified to have a spousal benefit under the program of Social
Security according to the primary insurance benefit of their spouses.
Know the requirements for Spousal benefits
Prior to claiming them, it would be good if you are familiar
with the actual facts of this program. Almost all spouses, could be qualified
to have spousal benefits from Social Security no matter whether they worked in
past times or not. To become qualified, it is mandatory to stay in a marriage
for at least one year prior to the application for benefits. Moreover, you also
need to be at least 62 years in age and the spouse who worked must have begun
to gather benefits to trigger eligibility. Before full retirement age, you can have
an option to claim benefits, but you will be fined by a permanent reduction in
your spousal benefits on a monthly basis.
The requirement here is that you should be age 62 if you
want to collect spousal benefits. But there are cases, in which scenarios may
be different to claim benefits early without paying any penalty. For instance, child-in-care
spousal benefits are one of them. Other requirements will be same as mentioned
above, but there are additional too. A couple should be caring for a child who
is having the age of below 16 years or disabled and who is also getting child
benefits from Social Security. And this info should be available on the word
record of a partner. Contrasting to traditional spousal benefits, for early
claiming, the child-in-care spousal benefits are not decreased. Of course,
there is no bottom tier range for age. A partner of any age can qualify for such
benefits as long as they fulfill all other requirements. These days, the
primary requirement is that one partner must claim benefits so that the spousal
benefits can be triggered, and suspended benefits no longer activate spousal
benefits.
Of course, it can be a challenge for one spouse to collect
such benefits when there is a large difference in age between partners.
How to boost spousal benefits
When it comes to finding the way to boost the Social
Security spousal benefits, then you need to know that there is not a simple
route to follow. Once you are clear with all the basics of these benefits, then
you can think of getting them increased but with the right method. These
benefits are dependent on an employee’s age wage history of compensating Social
Security. A spouse who works can carry on to work or earn money to boost his or
her own primary insurance money under the rules of Social Security that will
place a great impact on the spousal benefit in a positive manner.
In addition to that, if you want then you can wait until you
reach the full retirement age-period to get these benefits. The important thing
to know is that by doing so, you cannot increase the benefits, but with it, you
can avoid claiming early that may reduce your benefits. But, there is no point
in deferring spousal benefits from Social Security past full retirement age because
they are not going to have additional deferral credits once the full retirement
age is gone.
Still, you are interested in increasing such benefits, then
there is another way, which is all about working and getting your own benefits.
Nothing stops you from getting employed and receiving your own SS benefits as
no penalty is being there that decreases spousal benefits if you do not make a
benefit on your own history of work that is bigger. When it comes to dual-income
households, a person can often develop his or her own retirement benefit, which
is not directly influenced by the benefit of his or her spouse or spousal
benefits.
What is the Earnings Tests Effect?
There is a test known as the Earnings test that can help you
in calculating your benefits. If the case is, when you have collected spousal
benefits prior to your own full retirement age, then the benefits will also be based
according to the rule known as the earnings test. In fact, this could create a
forced suspension of benefits to your full retirement age, during this age, the
benefits would be calculated again because of the suspension of amounts.
What is the impact of the earnings tests? In fact, there are
two ways, in which you can see the impact of this test. These are:
- If the working spouse is having the age under the full retirement age and below claimed benefits, then this test can decrease any spousal benefits paid on the earnings record of a working partner.
- The second case is that when the partner who is claiming spousal benefits from SS is below full retirement age and is still in the employment stage, as such benefits can be suspended due to the fact that they can exceed this test threshold.
Final verdict
Spousal benefits from Social Security play an essential role
in this program and also the retirement system. These are the benefits that
recognize the essential role for non-working partners to be played in society
and the necessity of supporting these partners with a retirement benefit. In
fact, there can be a number of factors that should be taken into account when
any of the spouses is going to claim these benefits. To know or have complete
info about these Social Security benefits for a spouse, you can contact the
Social Security Administration department or talk to your financial advisor
that may affect your decision-making.
