I don’t think it’s all that rare - but I think it mainly is a possibility where one spouse earns much less than the other and has spent some time out of the workforce.
@doreen is correct: she has plenty of credits from working in financial services, but they were relatively low-paying jobs. I don’t have her statement in front of me, but based on her earnings her FRA benefit might be around $1,100 - which, based on the info from @Bill_Door, is close to but less than what she is slated to get if I retire at age 65, roughly 20 months short of my FRA.
In our case I’m maxed out and my wife, a free lance writer, has managed to minimize her official income with business expenses. She has her 30 quarters, so her time out of the workforce wasn’t a factor.
So the amount she receives is half of what you receive? Is that always the case?
(I’ll be shocked if it is that straightforward)
mmm
I’m sure that she needs 40 quarters, not 30, for social security and time out of the workforce is a factor. Social security benefits are calculated based on the average of the inflation adjusted lifetime earnings for your highest 35 years of earnings. If you’ve only worked 10 years, or 40 quarters, they will average in 25 years of zero earnings.
The spouse always gets their benefit. If their benefit is less than 50% of the benefit due to the higher earning spouse, the benefit of the lower earning spouse is supplemented to bring them up to the 50% of the higher earning spouse’s benefit at their full retirement age. For example, right now my wife is collecting $1,176 per month on her record, a reduced benefit because she started at 62. My full retirement age benefit would have been $2,504 but I’m electing to wait until 70. When I start collecting my enhanced benefit of $3,305 she will start collecting a supplement of $76 per month, to bring her up to 50% of my full retirement age benefit. The enhanced benefit for waiting until 70 does not accrue to the spousal benefit.
However, in the event of my demise, the widows benefit does include those enhanced benefits, so if I die after that she will start collecting a supplement of $2,129 to bring her benefit up to my benefit. She will always collect her benefit first, then it is supplemented to the higher rate.
@Bill_Door has already replied, but just to clarify:
A) my impression from past reading was that it was always half of what the spouse took, depending on that spouse’s decision as to when to start taking the benefit (IOW, half of a reduce amount if the spouse elected to start before FRA)
B) I was mistaken
C) the spouse would get half, if they elected to not use their own credits, and the spouse started benefits at FRA, but if the spouse (me, in this scenario) started benefits before FRA, the other spouse would be less than half based on the calculator at SSA.GOV that he linked to earlier. From that same calculator page (emphasis mine):
First, Bill_Door, thanks for your contribution to the discussion. Your posts are valuable.
(bolding mine)
Does the spouse get supplemented to bring them up to the 50% of their higher earning spouse’s full retirement age benefit even if that higher-earning spouse starts receiving benefits before they reach their FRA?
mmm
IN my case, yes. I’m collecting 50% of my spouses FRA benefit, even though she is receiving a reduced benefit because she filed early, so I end up with 65% of the benefit that she is collecting. I don’t know if this is the case for everyone, I was one of the last people to be able to take advantage of the file and suspend strategy that is no longer a viable option. There are several strategies for maximizing benefits that vary depending on birth dates that are gradually falling off the table.
Yeah, 40. I don’t know where 30 came from.