24 Jul Should I get married for better Social Security benefits?

Q. I’m 50 and I’ve never been married. My partner is 63 and also never married. We’re trying to decide if we should get married so we can benefit from each other’s Social Security. Does that make sense?
— Single for now

A. Marriage is an exciting proposition, even if you’re looking at it from a business-like standpoint.

We wish you all the best.

Let’s review how spousal benefits work before answering your question.

An individual must be at least age 62 or have a qualifying child in their care to be eligible for a spousal benefit, said Claudia Mott, a certified financial planner with Epona Financial Solutions in Basking Ridge.

At full retirement age (FRA), the amount a spouse would receive is equal to one half of their partner’s primary insurance amount (PIA), she said.

“However, Social Security will look at the individual’s own benefit to determine how much it would be and it will be compared to the spousal benefit amount,” Mott said. “Social Security only pays a spousal benefit if it is higher than the individual’s own payment.”

For example, if a spousal benefit at FRA is $1,000 per month and the individual’s own amount is $800, the amount received would be $1,000, not a combination of the two.

If you’ve both been working and contributing to Social Security, it’s quite likely that your own individual benefit at FRA will be greater than one-half of your partner’s, Mott said.

Benefits are based on lifetime earnings during your 35 highest-earning years. There are adjustments made, called indexing, which adjust for changes in wage levels over time, she said.

“Given that you were both born after 1960, your FRA would be 67 and additional years of earnings will be incorporated into both your calculations,” Mott said. “While it’s possible to file as early as age 62, Social Security will reduce the benefit by as much as 25% permanently when starting prior to age 67.”

You might consider getting copies of each of your estimated benefits from SSA.gov so that you can see what the current numbers look like, Mott suggested.

“Keep in mind that the benefit amount will change as work history is updated and possible cost of living adjustments are made,” she said.

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This story was originally published in July 2025.

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