Social Security spousal benefits

In short: If your husband or wife gets (or can get) Social Security, you may get a benefit of up to half of their full benefit. This is true even if you never worked. A former spouse can also qualify if the marriage lasted 10 years or more. Your spouse’s own payment is not reduced.

Who can get it

Current spouse:

You are 62 or older, or you care for your spouse’s child who is under 16 or disabled.
Your spouse has already applied for their own retirement or disability benefits.
You have been married at least 1 year (some exceptions apply).

Divorced spouse:

The marriage lasted 10 years or more.
You are not married now. (If you remarried and that marriage ended, you may qualify again.)
You and your former spouse are both 62 or older.
If you have been divorced for at least 2 years, you can get benefits even if your former spouse has not applied yet.
Your benefit does not affect your former spouse or their current spouse, and they are not told that you applied.

How much it pays

At your full retirement age, a spousal benefit can be up to 50% of your spouse’s full benefit (the amount they would get at their full retirement age).
If you start before your full retirement age, it is reduced. At 62, it can be as low as about 32.5% of your spouse’s full benefit.
Spousal benefits do not grow if you wait past your full retirement age. Waiting past that age only helps your own retirement benefit.
If you have your own work record, Social Security pays your own benefit first. If half of your spouse’s benefit is larger, you get a top-up to make up the difference.
When you apply for one benefit, you are treated as applying for both. You cannot take only the spousal benefit and save your own for later.

Since January 2025, a government pension from work that did not pay Social Security tax no longer reduces spousal benefits. If your spousal benefit was cut or denied in the past for this reason, contact Social Security.

How to apply

Online: ssa.gov/apply.
By phone: 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. Ask for a free interpreter if you need one.
In person: find your office at ssa.gov/locator.

What to have ready: your Social Security number and birth certificate, your spouse’s Social Security number, your marriage certificate, and for a former spouse, the divorce decree and the dates of the marriage.

Things people miss

Divorced spouses often do not know they qualify. You do not need your former spouse’s permission or help.
A spouse with a small benefit of their own may still get a top-up.
After the worker dies, the spousal benefit can become a much larger survivor benefit. Tell Social Security about the death.

Check what you may qualify for

Sources

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