You can apply for spousal Social Security benefits online at ssa.gov/apply once you are within three months of turning 62. The online form covers both your own retirement benefit and the spousal benefit in a single application, and you sign in with a my Social Security account. If you qualify because you are caring for your spouse’s young or disabled child rather than by age, the online option is not open to you and you will need to apply by phone or in person.
Who Can Use the Online Application
The online application is available if you are within three months of age 62 or older.1Social Security Administration. Form SSA-2 – Information You Need to Apply for Spouse’s or Divorced Spouse’s Benefits Beyond age, you need to meet the underlying eligibility rules for a spousal benefit:
- You and your spouse have been married for at least one continuous year, unless you are the biological parent of your spouse’s child.2Social Security Administration. What Are the Marriage Requirements to Receive Social Security Spouse’s Benefits
- Your spouse has already filed for their own retirement or disability benefits. You generally cannot collect a spousal benefit until the worker has filed.3Social Security Administration. Benefits for Spouses
- If you are divorced, the marriage lasted at least 10 years, you have been divorced at least two years, and you are currently unmarried. After the two-year wait you can file even if your ex has not filed, as long as your ex is at least 62.4Social Security Administration. Code of Federal Regulations 404-0331 – Who Is Entitled to Wife’s or Husband’s Benefits as a Divorced Spouse
One rule shapes how the online form behaves. If you turned 62 on or after January 2, 2016, deemed filing applies: when you apply for either your own retirement benefit or a spousal benefit, Social Security treats you as having applied for both and pays whichever is higher.5Social Security Administration. Filing Rules for Retirement and Spouses Benefits That is why the online system handles the two applications together rather than offering a spousal-only path.
What to Gather Before You Start
Have this information in front of you before opening the application. It keeps you from stalling partway through:
- Your full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number.
- Your spouse’s or ex-spouse’s full name, date of birth, and Social Security number.1Social Security Administration. Form SSA-2 – Information You Need to Apply for Spouse’s or Divorced Spouse’s Benefits
- The date and place of your marriage, plus dates and places of any prior marriages and the dates those ended by divorce or death.6Social Security Administration. Form SSA-1 – Information You Need to Apply for Retirement Benefits or Medicare
- Your bank routing number and account number for direct deposit.
Social Security may ask for a certified copy of your marriage certificate or, if applicable, your divorce decree to verify the claim. Certified means an original from the issuing agency or a copy the agency itself certified. Regular photocopies and notarized copies are not accepted. Certified marriage records come from the vital records office in the state or county where the marriage took place.
Signing In or Creating Your Account
You apply through a my Social Security account. If you don’t already have one, you can create it using Login.gov or ID.me. Login.gov is the federal government’s shared sign-in service; ID.me is a private identity verification provider that meets federal standards. Either works. Keep a government-issued photo ID within reach, because the identity check will ask for one.7Social Security Administration. Security and Protection – My Social Security
Filling Out and Submitting the Application
Once you sign in, the application moves through a series of screens: your personal details, your spouse’s information, marriage history, and your banking information for direct deposit. Because of deemed filing, you are not filing a separate spousal-only application. The same submission covers your own retirement benefit and the spousal benefit, and Social Security pays the higher of the two.3Social Security Administration. Benefits for Spouses
You can save your progress and come back later, so you don’t need to finish in one sitting. At the end, a review screen lets you check every entry before you sign electronically and submit. Submission generates a confirmation number. Save it somewhere you can find again.
When You Cannot Apply Online
The online path is closed if you qualify as a spouse under age 62 because you are caring for your spouse’s child who is 15 or younger or has a disability. In that situation, and any time the online system is not working for you, apply by phone at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or in person at a local Social Security office.1Social Security Administration. Form SSA-2 – Information You Need to Apply for Spouse’s or Divorced Spouse’s Benefits Walk-ins are accepted, but an appointment usually cuts the wait. Bring the same information and documents listed above.
What Your Benefit Will Be
Before you submit, it helps to know what you are signing up for. The full spousal benefit is 50 percent of your spouse’s primary insurance amount, meaning the monthly benefit they are entitled to at their own full retirement age. You only reach that full 50 percent if you wait until your own full retirement age to claim. For anyone born in 1960 or later, that age is 67.8Social Security Administration. Benefits Planner – Retirement Age and Benefit Reduction
Claiming at 62 instead of 67 cuts the spousal benefit by 35 percent, leaving you with about 32.5 percent of your spouse’s full benefit. The reduction is permanent. Each month you wait between 62 and 67 shrinks the penalty.3Social Security Administration. Benefits for Spouses
Delayed retirement credits do not apply to spousal benefits. Waiting until 70 gives you nothing more than filing at 67.
After You Submit
You get a confirmation with a reference number. Social Security then reviews the application, verifies your marriage and age, and checks your spouse’s earnings record. Processing runs from a few weeks to a few months. A claims representative may reach out for additional documents or clarification along the way.
You can check where things stand at any point by signing in to your my Social Security account and opening the status page, which shows the review stage and an expected decision date.9Social Security Administration. Check Application or Appeal Status
Retroactive Benefits
If you apply after reaching full retirement age, Social Security can pay up to six months of retroactive benefits before your application date. This is not available if you apply before full retirement age, because backdating would trigger a permanent monthly reduction that Social Security will not process in that situation.10Social Security Administration. SSA Handbook 1513 – Retroactive Benefits
If Your Application Is Denied
A denial arrives as a written notice with the reason. You have 60 days from the date you receive it to request an appeal. The first level is a reconsideration, where a different reviewer looks at the claim.11Social Security Administration. Understanding Supplemental Security Income Appeals Process Most spousal denials come down to missing documentation or a marriage that fell short of the duration requirement. If you can fix the underlying issue, sending in the missing marriage certificate for example, that is usually faster than a formal appeal.
If Your Spouse Has Died
The online spousal benefits application is not the right form for survivors. Survivor benefits are a separate program with different rules, a minimum age of 60, and a separate application process, and they can pay up to 100 percent of what the deceased spouse was receiving or entitled to.12Social Security Administration. Survivors Benefits To file, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.