To apply for spousal Social Security benefits, file online at ssa.gov, call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213, or make an appointment at your local field office. If you qualify, the benefit pays up to 50% of your spouse’s full retirement amount, and claiming before your own full retirement age permanently reduces that share.1Social Security Online. Benefits for Spouses
Do You Qualify
Eligibility turns on your marital status, your age, and whether the worker whose record you are claiming on has filed for their own benefits.
If You Are Currently Married
You can file if you have been married to the worker for at least one continuous year, the worker is already collecting retirement or disability benefits, and you are at least 62.2Social Security Administration. Who Can Get Family Benefits The age rule bends in one situation: if you are caring for the worker’s child who is under 16 or has a disability, you can collect at any age, and the payment is not reduced for filing early.1Social Security Online. Benefits for Spouses
If You Are Divorced
You can claim on a former spouse’s record if the marriage lasted at least 10 years, you are 62 or older, and you have not remarried.3Social Security Administration. What Are the Marriage Requirements to Receive Social Security Spouse’s Benefits Your ex does not need to have filed for their own benefits, but if they haven’t, you must have been divorced for at least two years before you can claim.2Social Security Administration. Who Can Get Family Benefits Remarriage generally ends your eligibility on the former record. If that later marriage ends by divorce, annulment, or death, eligibility on the earlier record can be restored.
The Deemed Filing Rule
If you turned 62 on or after January 2, 2016, you cannot claim a spousal benefit alone while letting your own retirement benefit grow. The SSA treats one application as an application for both and pays you the higher amount. This rule applies even after full retirement age. Survivor benefits are the one carve-out: a widow or widower can start a survivor benefit and switch to their own retirement benefit later.4Social Security Administration. Filing Rules for Retirement and Spouses Benefits
Documents to Have Ready
Gather these before you start. Missing paperwork is the most common reason claims stall.
- Social Security numbers for you and your spouse or former spouse.
- Your birth certificate, either an original or a copy certified by the issuing agency. Photocopies and notarized copies are not accepted.5Social Security Administration. What Documents Do You Need to Apply for Retirement Benefits
- Proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful status if you were not born in the United States, such as a passport or naturalization certificate.6Social Security Administration. Form SSA-2 – Information You Need to Apply for Spouse’s or Divorced Spouse’s Benefits
- Your marriage certificate showing the date and place of the marriage.
- Your final divorce decree, if you are filing as a divorced spouse.6Social Security Administration. Form SSA-2 – Information You Need to Apply for Spouse’s or Divorced Spouse’s Benefits
- Your bank routing and account numbers for direct deposit.
The paper form is SSA-2, “Application for Wife’s or Husband’s Insurance Benefits,” which asks about your current marriage and any prior marriages that lasted at least 10 years or ended with a spouse’s death.7Social Security Administration. Application for Wife’s or Husband’s Insurance Benefits If you apply online or by phone, the system or representative walks you through the same questions.
The Three Ways to File
Online
The fastest route for most people. Go to ssa.gov/retirement, choose “Apply online,” and sign in to or create a my Social Security account. You enter your information, sign electronically, and receive a confirmation number. You can save your progress and come back if you need to track down a document.8Social Security Administration. How to Apply Online for Retirement, Spouses, or Medicare Benefits
By Phone
Call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) to set up a phone interview. A representative completes the application with you, and your verbal confirmation counts as a legal signature. This works well if you have questions about eligibility or would rather not use the online system.
In Person
Field office visits are by appointment only. Call the same number to schedule one, and bring originals so the representative can scan them on the spot. This is the right choice when your situation is complicated: multiple prior marriages, uncertainty about a former spouse’s record, or unusual documentation.
What Happens After You File
The SSA processes most retirement and spousal claims within about 14 days when benefits are due immediately or before your start date.9Social Security Administration. Social Security Performance Divorced-spouse claims and cases with missing records can take longer. You receive a formal notice stating whether the claim was approved and what your monthly amount will be.
Payments arrive monthly by direct deposit. The day of the month depends on the worker’s date of birth:10Social Security Administration. Paying Monthly Benefits
- Born 1st through 10th: second Wednesday of the month.
- Born 11th through 20th: third Wednesday.
- Born 21st through 31st: fourth Wednesday.
If you skip direct deposit, the SSA can load payments onto a Direct Express prepaid debit card. You can check claim status and payment history in your my Social Security account.
One thing to know if you plan to keep working. Under full retirement age, the earnings test can temporarily withhold part of your benefit if your wages exceed an annual limit; the withholding stops at full retirement age, and any amounts held back are credited back into your monthly payment through a recalculation.11Social Security Administration. Exempt Amounts Under the Earnings Test
How Much the Check Will Be
The maximum spousal benefit is 50% of the worker’s primary insurance amount, meaning the monthly benefit the worker would receive at full retirement age.1Social Security Online. Benefits for Spouses You only get the full 50% by waiting until your own full retirement age. For anyone born in 1960 or later, that age is 67.12Social Security Administration. Benefits Planner – Retirement – Born in 1960 or Later
Claiming earlier cuts the amount permanently. If you were born in 1960 or later and file at 62, the reduction is 35%, so you would receive roughly 32.5% of the worker’s full retirement benefit instead of 50%.13Social Security Administration. Retirement Age and Benefit Reduction There is no bonus for waiting past full retirement age; spousal benefits do not earn delayed retirement credits.
If You Have a Non-Covered Government Pension
The Social Security Fairness Act, signed on January 5, 2025, eliminated the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision. Before repeal, the GPO reduced a spousal benefit by two-thirds of a government pension from work not covered by Social Security, which wiped out the entire spousal check for many public employees.14Social Security Administration. Government Pension Offset The repeal is retroactive to January 2024, and affected beneficiaries are receiving one-time retroactive payments covering the months since. You do not need to reapply; the SSA is recalculating affected benefits automatically.15Social Security Administration. Social Security Fairness Act – Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
If Your Claim Is Denied
You have 60 days from the date you receive the decision notice to request an appeal in writing.16Social Security Administration. Appeals Process The first level is reconsideration, where a different SSA examiner reviews your file from scratch. If that goes against you, the next step is a hearing before an administrative law judge.
Most denials come down to missing documentation or a marriage that fell short of the one-year requirement for current spouses or the 10-year requirement for divorced spouses. Before starting a formal appeal, call 1-800-772-1213 and ask what went wrong. A missing document is often faster to supply than to fight.