Chapter 19: Spousal Benefits
The worksheets from Chapter 19 of Fifty-Five. Type your own numbers, or try an example from the book to see how each one works.
Your spousal benefit
Your total monthly benefit as a spouse: your own benefit plus any spousal extra, at the age you claim. It uses the reductions for anyone born in 1960 or later, whose full retirement age is 67.
The formula: Spouse's full-retirement-age benefit × 0.50 = Your spousal amount. Spousal amount − Your own full-retirement-age benefit = The spousal extra. If you claim early: (Your own benefit × (1 − your own reduction)) + (Spousal extra × (1 − the spousal reduction)) = Your total.
The calculator needs JavaScript. The paper worksheet below does not: it is the same arithmetic, written out.
The paper worksheet
Spouse's full-retirement-age benefit $__________ × 0.50 = Your spousal amount $__________
Your spousal amount $__________ − Your own benefit $__________ = Spousal extra $__________ (zero or less? no spousal benefit)
Your own benefit $__________ × (1 − your reduction) + Spousal extra $__________ × (1 − spousal reduction) = Your total $__________
Reductions if your full retirement age is 67. Your own benefit: 30% at 62, 25% at 63, 20% at 64, 13.33% at 65, 6.67% at 66, 0% at 67.
The spousal part: 35% at 62, 30% at 63, 25% at 64, 16.67% at 65, 8.33% at 66, 0% at 67.
Walk through it, step by step
- From your spouse's Social Security statement, write their benefit at full retirement age. Multiply by 0.50.
- From your own statement, write your benefit at full retirement age. If you've never worked, write $0.
- Subtract your own benefit from the spousal amount. If the answer is zero or less, stop. You'll get your own benefit only.
- Find your claiming age in the table. Write both reductions.
- Multiply your own benefit by what's left after your own reduction. For 30%, that's 0.70.
- Multiply the spousal extra by what's left after the spousal reduction. For 35%, that's 0.65.
- Add the two. That's your estimated monthly total.
Check your answer
- At full retirement age, your total must equal the larger of your own benefit or half your spouse's. For Marie: the larger of $800 or $1,400 is $1,400. It matches.
- Claiming early, your total must be smaller than at full retirement age.
- Unless your own benefit is the bigger one, your total at full retirement age can never be more than half your spouse's benefit. If it is, you added the full spousal amount instead of just the extra.
Figures this worksheet uses, and where they come from: A spousal benefit of up to 50% of the worker's full-retirement-age benefit (SSA, Survivors Benefits / Family Benefits); Reductions to your own benefit for claiming before a full retirement age of 67: 30% at 62, 25% at 63, 20% at 64, 13.33% at 65, 6.67% at 66 (SSA, Starting Your Retirement Benefits Early); Reductions to the spousal part (25/36 of 1% for each of the first 36 months early, 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond): 35% at 62, 30% at 63, 25% at 64, 16.67% at 65, 8.33% at 66 (SSA, Starting Your Retirement Benefits Early).