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Social Security Disability Spousal Benefits Calculator

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Social Security Survivor Benefits

Social Security Spousal Benefits: The Easy Calculation

When your spouse dies, you may be eligible for survivor benefits. You may also be eligible for your ex-spouses survivor benefits if you were married for at least 10 years or you care for their child whos younger than 16 or disabled.

Survivor benefits are as much as 100% of the benefit the deceased worker was receiving when they died. If the person died before claiming benefits, the survivor benefit is based on their primary insurance amount.

To qualify for the full benefit, you still have to wait until your full retirement age. However, you can claim benefits as early as age 60 . If you claimed survivor benefits as soon as youre eligible at age 60, youd only receive 71.5% of your late spouses benefit. Surviving spouses or ex-spouses who are caring for a child younger than 16 or who has a disability can receive 75% of the deceased workers benefit.

If you remarry before age 60 , you wont qualify for survivor benefits. However, if you remarry after age 60 , remarrying wont jeopardize your survivor benefits.

What Is The Maximum Spousal Social Security Benefit

The maximum spousal benefit is 50% of the amount that the spouse is eligible to receive at full retirement age. That’s a cap, by the way. If your spouse delays retiring until 70, the spouse gets more, but you don’t.

Survivors may receive up to 100% of the deceased person’s Social Security amount. There’s a complicated formula for families in which more than one dependent is eligible for benefits. It caps the maximum.

Will Your Expenses Decrease After You Retire

Retirement could be more expensive than you expect.

If you’re planning an active retirement or carry a mortgage or other debt, retirement may be more expensive than you expect. Some regular expenses like your out-of-pocket health care costs will likely increase as you get older. You can protect your retirement lifestyle by reducing your largest expenses. You can also increase your regular income by claiming at your full Social Security benefit age or later. If you claim earlier, your monthly benefit could be reduced by as much as 30 percent.Create a retirement budget.

Retirement could be more expensive than you expect.

If you’re planning an active retirement or carry a mortgage or other debt, retirement may be more expensive than you expect. Some regular expenses like your out-of-pocket health care costs will likely increase as you get older. You can protect your retirement lifestyle by reducing your largest expenses. You can also increase your regular income by claiming at your full Social Security benefit age or later. If you claim earlier, your monthly benefit could be reduced by as much as 30 percent.Create a retirement budget.

Maintain your lifestyle by planning ahead.

Maintain your lifestyle by planning ahead.

Many people find retirement is more expensive than expected.

Many people find retirement is more expensive than expected.

Also Check: What Percent Of Social Security Is Taxed

How Does The Social Security Administration Calculate Benefits

Benefits also depend on how much money youâve earned in life. The Social Security Administration takes your highest-earning 35 years of covered wages and averages them, indexing for inflation. They give you a big fat âzeroâ for each year you donât have earnings, so people who worked for fewer than 35 years may see lower benefits.

The Social Security Administration also makes annual Cost of Living Adjustments, even as you collect benefits. That means the retirement income you collect from Social Security has built-in protection against inflation. For many people, Social Security is the only form of retirement income they have that is directly linked to inflation. Itâs a big perk that doesnât get a lot of attention.

How To Calculate Your Own Social Security Spousal Benefits

What Is The Maximum Social Security Deduction For 2020

The spousal benefit calculation is straightforward if you dont have a benefit of your own. Remember, in that case, its between 32.5% and 50% of the higher-earning spouses full retirement age benefit, depending on your filing age.

However, it can seem a little more complicated if you have Social Security benefits from your work history.

And to keep things interesting, the Social Security Administration decided that a different calculation method should be used to determine how much each benefit should increase/decrease based on your filing age.

Fun, right?

As complicated as Social Security benefits can seem, there is a way to correctly calculate how much your spousal benefit will be if you qualify to receive it.

Check out this section of my video that goes over this calculation step-by-step. VIDEO: How To Calculate Spousal Benefits The RIGHT Way

If you understand how they break down the individual benefits, its not hard to use the table above to quickly figure out what your approximate benefit will be. Heres an example.

Joe and Julie each have a Social Security benefit from work they individually performed. Julies benefit at her full retirement age is $800 per month. Joes benefit at his full retirement age is $2,000.

Assuming they are both full retirement age when they file, Joe will be entitled to a benefit of $2,000 and Julie will be entitled to the greater of her own benefit or half of Joes benefit.

Sounds simple, right?

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Spousal Benefits For Widows And Widowers

A widow or widower can receive up to 100% of a spouse’s benefit amount. That’s if the survivor has reached full retirement age at the time of the application.

The payment is reduced to somewhere between 71% and 99% of the deceased’s entitlement if the widowed person is at least 60 but under full retirement age.

Disabled people can apply as early as age 50. The agency has a streamlined application process to avoid delays in the first payment.

You may be eligible for benefits even if your spouse died long before reaching retirement age. Every employee racks up annual Social Security “credits” for working. If your spouse earned credits for at least 10 years, a spousal benefit has been earned.

It’s important to note that it pays to hold off until you reach your “full” retirement age to maximize the amount you will receive.

Also, if you are receiving spousal benefits and your spouse dies, you need to notify Social Security. Your spousal benefit of 50% of your partner’s benefit will convert to a survivor benefit of 100%.

And do it promptly. It’s not usually retroactive.

What Happens If You File For Your Own Benefits Before Youre Eligible For A Spousal Payment

What happens if someone files for their own benefit, but is not yet eligible to receive the spousal payment? The answer, and the next calculation Im going to show you, has confused a lot of people.

This actually happens fairly often, due to the rule that says before a spousal payment can be paid, the higher-earning spouse must file first. We can figure out how this works by using the chart from above and continuing our example of a higher- and lower-earning spouse in a marriage where each is entitled to their own benefit but the lower-earning spouse may also get a spousal payment.

Lets assume that the lower-earning spouse has reached full retirement age and they file for their benefit of $800. If the higher-earning spouse has already filed, theyll get the spousal payment of $200, but if they havent already filed, they will not get the spousal payment. That would keep their total payment to $800.

This goes for any age at which the lower-earning spouse files as long as the higher-earning spouse has not yet filed. The lower-earning spouse cant get the spousal payment in this scenario, so their total payment would only be their own benefit, reduced or increased for filing age.

Now, lets step this up to a more likely scenario where the lower-earning spouse files for benefits and two years later, the higher-earning spouse files for benefits. When the higher-earning spouse files, it entitles the lower-earning spouse to the spousal payment.

But how would this be calculated?

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Who Should Complete The Application

As the survivor, you are responsible for applying for your monthly pension. If you are incapable of applying, you may have a representative apply for you.

A registered trustee, guardian, or other legal representative, may act on a clients behalf in person, by mail or by phone, but not online. For more information, you can contact the Canada Pension Plan.

Who Qualifies For Social Security Spousal Benefits

How To Calculate Spousal Benefits (Without Missing One IMPORTANT Step)

If your spouse has filed for Social Security benefits, you can also collect benefits based on the spouse’s work record, if:

  • You are at least 62 years old.
  • Regardless of your age, if you care for a child who is entitled to receive benefits on your spouses record, and who is under age 16 or disabled.

When you apply for spousal benefits, you will also be applying for benefits based on your own work history. If you’re eligible for benefits based on your own earnings, and that benefit amount is higher than your spousal benefit, that’s what you’ll get. If it is lower, you’ll get the spousal benefit.

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How Do I Find Out My Social Security Benefit Amount

Your Social Security Statement, which the SSA recently redesigned, is the best place to find your SSDI benefit amount. You can find your statement online at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.

If you don’t receive benefits yet, your Social Security Statement will show you what your SSDI payment will be if you get approved for disability benefits this year. It also shows what your retirement benefit would be at age 62, 67, and 70. You can also check your entire covered earnings history on your Social Security Statement.

The SSA still has an online benefits calculator that you can use to get an estimate of your monthly benefits, but if you sign up for an account to see your new Social Security Statement, you won’t need it. You can also call your local Social Security office, and a field representative will be able to help you estimate what your benefits would be.

Average SSDI Benefit in 2022

What If I Take Benefits Early

If you choose to take your own Social Security benefit before your full retirement age, be aware that the benefit is permanently reduced by five-ninths of 1% for each month. If you start more than 36 months before your full retirement age, the worker benefit is further reduced by five-twelfths of 1% per month for the rest of retirement.

For example, let’s assume you stop working at age 62. If your full retirement age is 67 and you elect to start benefits at age 62, the reduced benefit calculation is based on 60 months. So, the reduction for the first 36 months is 20% and then another 10% for the remaining 24 months. Overall, your benefits would be permanently reduced by 30%.

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Strategy For Widowed Spouses

Widows and widowers may receive full benefits at their full retirement age or reduced benefits as early as age 60, as explained in the sections above. Remarrying after age 60 will not affect your eligibility for survivors benefits. However, it may be more convenient for you to forego your widow or widower spousal benefits depending on your circumstances.

If your current spouse is also eligible for Social Security benefits and earns more than your former spouse, you may wish to apply for spousal benefits based on your new spouses record instead.

If you are collecting a survivor benefit, but also qualify for a benefit on your own, you may wish to collect a survivor benefit in the early years of retirement and leave your own Social Security benefits to accrue delayed retirement credits. Then, you can switch to your own retirement benefit as late as age 70.

When To Apply For Benefits How Much Youll Get

What Is The Maximum Social Security Deduction For 2020

AARP, Updated May 25 , 2022

All the information presented is for educational and resource purposes only. It is not intended to provide specific or investment advice. We don’t guarantee the accuracy of the tool and suggest that you consult with your advisor regarding your individual situation.

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Follow These Steps To Get Started:

  • Ask your spouse to create or open their mySocial Security account, go to the Plan for Retirement section, and note their retirement benefit estimate at their full retirement age or Primary Insurance Amount .
  • Create or open your mySocial Security account, scroll to the Plan for Retirement section, and:
  • Select See what you could receive from a spouse if you are not eligible for retirement benefits yourself or select the Include a spouse? tab if you are eligible for retirement benefits.
  • Choose a future age or date when you would like to start receiving spouses benefits.
  • Enter your spouses retirement benefit estimate at their full retirement age or PIA.
  • If you are eligible for retirement benefits, you can also scroll to the bottom of the screen to estimate the potential benefits your spouse could receive based on your earnings history by entering their date of birth, and age when they would elect to begin receiving benefits.
  • Thats it! So create or sign in to your mySocial Security account and start planning for your future today!

    Already have a mySocial Security Account?

    Sign in to your account and scroll down to the Plan for Retirement section to start planning for your future.

    What About Taxes On Social Security

    Social Security benefits may be taxable, depending on your “combined income.” Your combined income is equal to your adjusted gross income , plus non-taxable interest payments , plus half of your Social Security benefit.

    As your combined income increases above a certain threshold , more of your benefit is subject to income taxâup to a maximum of 85%. For help, talk with a CPA or tax professional.

    In any case, if you’re still working, you may want to postpone Social Security either until you reach your full retirement age or until your earned income is less than the annual limit. In no situation should you postpone benefits past age 70.

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    Combining The Survivor’s Pension With Other Cpp Benefits

    If you already receive a Canada Pension Plan retirement pension or disability pension, the survivor’s pension will be combined into a single monthly payment.

    However, you cannot receive a full survivor’s pension while also receiving a full retirement pension or disability pension. The combined benefit is not necessarily the sum of the 2 separate benefits.

    The following restrictions relate to benefit amounts if you are eligible for more than 1 CPP benefit.

    Combining the disability pension and the survivor’s pension

    The most that can be paid to a person eligible for both the disability pension and the survivor’s pension is the maximum disability pension .

    Combining the CPP retirement pension and survivors pension

    The most that can be paid to a person who is eligible for the retirement pension and the survivor’s pension is the maximum retirement pension .

    Combining multiple benefits

    When combining multiple benefits with a flat-rate component, only 1 flat-rate is provided .

    When combining multiple benefits, the total amount of combined CPP benefits paid is adjusted based on the survivor’s age and other benefits received.

    The Two Exceptions To Know Around The 1 Year Marriage Requirement

    Calculating Social Security Spousal Benefits with Dual Entitlement

    Normally, you must be married for at least 12 continuous months to meet the spousal benefit duration-of-marriage requirement. However, there are two exceptions to this rule.

    Exception 1

    If you marry someone who is the natural mother or father of your child, the one year requirement is waived.

    Be the natural mother or father of the workers biological son or daughter i.e., this requirement is met if a live child was born to the number-holder and claimant although the child need not be alive.

    Exception 2

    The 1-year requirement is also waived if you were entitled to Social Security benefits on someone elses work record in the month before you were married.

    An example of these benefits would be spousal benefits, survivor benefits or parents benefits.

    For example, lets assume you will be eligible for a spousal benefit from your ex-husband Joe. If you remarry, you wouldnt have to wait the full 12 months to get a spousal benefit from your new spouse. Instead, youd be immediately eligible.

    This topic is closely related to the Social Security Survivor Benefit. Ive written an in-depth but easy-to-understand article titled Social Security Survivor Benefits: The Complete Guide to Who Gets What and How to Calculate It if you want to learn more.

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    When Should I Start Collecting Social Security

    Ultimately, the decision of when to begin collecting Social Security is one you have to make. It depends on your age, your health status, how much you spend and how much you have saved. Its generally best to start collecting as late as you can, because you get a larger monthly payment, which is adjusted for inflation each year.

    Consider a retiree who was born in 1950 and averaged $50,000 a year in salary. If she has $3,000 a month in expenses, her Social Security check would cover 48 percent of her expenses if she started Social Security at age 62. If she waited till age 70, her check would cover 85 percent of her expenses. Every year she delays retirement, her Social Security payout which is adjusted annually for inflation rises by about $1,649.

    Traditionally, the retirement system in the U.S. has been a three-legged stool: Social Security, savings and pensions. Social Security was never intended to be the sole source of income for retirement. Increasingly, however, employers have been moving away from their employer-sponsored pension plans in favor of tax-deferred retirement savings accounts, such as 401 plans.

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