Most married couples know the importance of often taking your spousal benefit versus your earned benefit. If one spouse spent most of their years not working (say, at home raising their children) then their earned benefit is likely far lower than the primary earner’s. In this case, the lower earning spouse is often better off claiming the spousal benefit, which is half of the primary earners benefit.

But there is more a married couple can do to maximize their Social Security benefit. It helps to remind ourselves that Social Security is possibly the most substantial “asset” in your retirement plan. It’s a lifetime benefit, it is paid to you and your spouse (either each of your own earned benefit, or one earned benefit and a spousal benefit), it increases with inflation, and the list goes on.

While the Social Security Administration warns that Social Security is expected to replace only about 40% of your income, I know plenty of retirees who are getting by comfortably living on 50% to 60% of their pre-retirement income, with Social Security accounting for 60% of that amount or even more!

One way to further increase this benefit is to focus on maximizing the benefit of the primary earner by delaying their benefit until age 70. This is important because the primary earner’s benefit will become the non-primary earner’s benefit, assuming the primary earner passes away first. (Note: This is often the case. In most families, the male spouse is the primary earner, and women tend to outlive men.) Maximizing the primary earner’s benefit increases the amount the couple receives as long as either spouse is alive.

Example: Mark’s full retirement age (FRA) is age 67. At this age his benefit will be $2,500 per month. By waiting to claim his benefit until age 70, Mark’s benefit will increase by approximately 8% per year, increasing his benefit to $3,400 per month at age 70. If Mark passes away before his wife Mae, her spousal benefit will stop and her new benefit will be $3,400 per month. Note that Mae’s new benefit is Mark’s increased benefit at age 70, not just his FRA benefit. Mae continues to receive this benefit the rest of her life.

In this light then, when should the non-primary earner claim their benefit? Typically as early as possible. Getting that benefit started quickly will increase the total number of benefit years for the non-primary earner. Whether it’s their own earned benefit, or the spousal benefit, a couple is most likely to come out ahead if the non-primary spouse starts sooner.

Example: Mark’s full retirement age (FRA) is age 67. Mae’s FRA is also 67. Mark is two years older than Mae. Mae spent most of her eligible working years at home raising their children, so it makes the most sense for her to claim the spousal benefit. Mark turns 70 and files for his benefit which allows Mae to file for her spousal benefit. Mae could have filed for her own earner’s benefit at her FRA of age 67, but since she’s claiming the spousal benefit, she must wait until age 68 (when Mark files).

Generally, it doesn’t make sense for Mae to wait until age 70 to claim her benefit, rather they’re best off increasing Mark’s benefit, and claiming Mae’s sooner.

Lots of different circumstances may change the ideal approach to your Social Security claiming situation. For example, if your earned benefit is less than the spousal benefit but not by much, it may make sense to claim the earned benefit instead.

Health-related factors can also change the calculus. If the non-primary earner doesn’t expect to live long and she needs to wait several years before claiming her spousal benefit, it may make more sense to claim her own earned benefit. If the primary earner doesn’t expect to live long then they may want to claim sooner as well, but being mindful of the decreased benefit going to their spouse once they pass away, compared to if they’d waited.

Social Security makes my head spin, and I’m around this stuff pretty much every day! It doesn’t need to be overcomplicated though. Most couples should focus on maximizing the benefit of the highest earner. In most cases, doing so increases the total income to the couple as long as at least one spouse survives.