Social Security spousal and survivor benefit

How much is the spousal benefit?

Up to 50% of the worker’s full retirement age benefit (the primary insurance amount), if the spouse starts at their own full retirement age or later. A spouse who also has a work record gets only the difference: half of the worker’s benefit minus the spouse’s own full benefit.

How much is it reduced if I start early?

By 25/36 of 1% for each of the first 36 months before your full retirement age and 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond that. With a full retirement age of 67, starting at 62 pays 32.5% of the worker’s benefit instead of 50%.

Does the spousal benefit grow if I wait past full retirement age?

No. Delayed retirement credits apply to your own retirement benefit, not to the spousal benefit, so waiting past full retirement age adds nothing to it.

When can the spousal benefit start?

Only after the working spouse has filed for retirement benefits, and you must be at least 62 (or have a qualifying child in your care). A divorced spouse follows different rules; this calculator is for current spouses.

How much does a widow or widower get?

From 71.5% of the deceased worker’s benefit at age 60 to 100% at the survivor full retirement age. The reduction of 28.5% is spread evenly over the months between age 60 and that age. If the worker had claimed early, the survivor gets the larger of the worker’s actual benefit or 82.5% of the full benefit.

Is the survivor’s full retirement age the same as mine?

Not exactly. For survivors, the table in 20 CFR 404.409(b) runs two years behind the one for retirement: it is 66 for people born in 1945–1956 and rises in two-month steps to 67 for those born in 1962 or later.

Do I get my own benefit and the spousal benefit together?

You get your own benefit first; if half of the worker’s benefit is higher, Social Security adds the difference. Your own benefit plus the spousal part therefore comes to at most half of the worker’s full benefit when your own is the smaller, before any reduction for starting early.

What the number means

Social Security pays a worker’s husband or wife a benefit based on the worker’s record, even if the spouse never worked. The calculator has two modes. The spouse mode estimates the spousal benefit and, if you also earned your own, the total of both. The survivor mode estimates what a widow or widower can receive from a deceased spouse’s record from age 60.

How the spousal benefit is figured

The maximum is one-half of the worker’s primary insurance amount (PIA), which is the benefit at the worker’s own full retirement age (20 CFR 404.333). If you have your own PIA, the spousal part is half the worker’s PIA minus your own PIA, never below zero. That amount is cut for starting before your full retirement age: 25/36 of 1% for each of the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% for each further month (20 CFR 404.410). Your own benefit is cut by 5/9 of 1% and 5/12 of 1% for the same months, or increased by 2/3 of 1% per month after full retirement age. We assume you start your own benefit and the spousal benefit at the same age, and round dollar amounts down.

Worked example: spouse born in 1964, worker’s benefit $2,400

A spouse with no work record has a full retirement age of 67. At 67 the spousal benefit is half of $2,400, or $1,200. At 65 (24 months early, a cut of 24 × 25/36% ≈ 16.7%) it is 41.7% of the worker’s benefit, or $999, and at 62 (60 months early: 36 × 25/36% + 24 × 5/12% = 35%) it is 32.5%, or $780. If the spouse has an own full benefit of $500, the spousal part at 67 is $700 ($1,200 − $500) and the total is $1,200; started at 62 the total is $805 ($350 own + $455 spousal). If the spouse’s own benefit is larger than half of the worker’s, as with $1,200 against $2,000, the spousal part is $0.

Worked example: widow born in 1964, husband’s benefit $2,000

The survivor full retirement age for someone born in 1964 is 67. At that age the benefit is 100% of the worker’s $2,000, which is $2,000. At age 60 the percentage is 71.5% ($1,430) and at 64 it is 87.8% ($1,755). If the worker had claimed early at a reduced $1,300 a month, the survivor benefit is based on the larger of that and 82.5% of $2,000, which is $1,650, so $1,650 at full retirement age.

Common mistakes

Waiting for more: the spousal benefit does not increase after full retirement age, so a spouse who waits to 70 gets no extra on that part. Mixing up the two full retirement ages: survivor benefits use a different table from retirement and spousal benefits. Adding the survivor benefit to your own benefit: Social Security generally pays the larger of the two amounts, not both in full. Forgetting that the spousal benefit cannot start until the worker files, and that divorced spouses (married at least 10 years) have separate rules.

Limits of this method

The calculator uses the benefit amounts you enter and today’s rules. It does not apply cost-of-living adjustments, the family maximum, the earnings test, or the special treatment of a spouse caring for a child. Survivor benefits depend on the worker’s actual record, including delayed retirement credits, which you should ask Social Security about.

An estimate for planning only — not financial advice; Social Security decides your benefit. Sources, checked October 28, 2026: 20 CFR 404.333 (wife’s and husband’s benefit), 404.410 (reduction for age), 404.409 (full retirement age tables) and 404.338 (widow’s and widower’s amount). Related: Social Security calculator, Social Security break-even calculator, earnings test calculator, Social Security tax calculator and retirement calculator. How we check our calculators.