Why this calculator matters now
For more than 40 years, the Government Pension Offset reduced a spousal or survivor benefit by two thirds of any pension from a job that did not pay into Social Security. A retired Texas teacher with a $3,000 pension lost $2,000 a month of a widow’s benefit, which usually meant all of it. The Social Security Fairness Act ended the offset for benefits payable from January 2024. Social Security has paid the back benefits, and new claims are figured the same way as for anyone else.
That makes a spouse’s record one of the most valuable things a retired public worker can check. Many teachers, police officers and firefighters in non-covered jobs have a spouse with a long private-sector career, and the benefits below now come in full on top of the pension.
How the spousal benefit works
A spousal benefit tops your own benefit up to half of your spouse’s full-retirement-age amount. With a $2,400 spouse benefit and $600 of your own, the top-up is $600 and you receive $1,200 at full retirement age. Claim at 62 and the spousal part shrinks by 35% while your own part shrinks by 30%. Waiting past full retirement age grows your own benefit by 8% a year but adds nothing to the spousal part, so most people with a small record claim the spousal benefit by 67.
Your spouse’s own claiming age does not change the spousal amount, but it does decide when it can start, because spousal benefits begin only once your spouse has filed.
How the survivor benefit works
When a spouse dies, the survivor receives the larger of their own benefit and the spouse’s benefit. Here the spouse’s claiming age matters a great deal. A spouse who waited until 70 leaves a survivor benefit 24% larger than the full amount, for the rest of the survivor’s life. A spouse who claimed at 62 still leaves at least 82.5% of the full amount. The survivor can start as early as 60 at 71.5%, rising to 100% at full retirement age.
A common plan for couples is for the higher earner to wait to 70 to lock in the biggest survivor benefit, while the lower earner claims earlier. If you are the survivor with a pension and a small record, claiming the survivor benefit at your full retirement age gives you the full amount for life.
Questions
How much is a spousal benefit?
Up to half of your spouse’s full-retirement-age benefit. If your own benefit is smaller than that half, Social Security pays your own benefit plus the difference. Claiming before your full retirement age reduces the spousal part, and waiting past it does not increase it.
How much does a widow or widower get?
Up to 100% of what the spouse who died was receiving, or was due to receive. If that spouse claimed early, the survivor still gets at least 82.5% of the spouse’s full benefit. If the spouse waited past full retirement age, the survivor keeps the extra. Survivor benefits can start at 60, reduced to 71.5%.
Does my teacher or police pension still cut these benefits?
No. The Government Pension Offset used to reduce spousal and survivor benefits by two thirds of a non-covered pension, which wiped them out for most retired teachers. The Social Security Fairness Act repealed it for benefits payable from January 2024.
Can I get my own benefit and a spousal benefit?
You get the larger of the two, paid as your own benefit plus a top-up. You cannot collect both in full.
When can I start a spousal benefit?
From 62, and only after your spouse has filed for their own benefit. A divorced spouse married for at least 10 years can claim on an ex-spouse’s record once both are 62.