Married and retiring soon? Considerations for collecting Social Security

If you and your spouse are approaching retirement, you may have started thinking about Social Security benefits. When should you start collecting? Can you both collect? What happens when one of you dies? The answers to these questions can affect not only your monthly income now, but also your spouse’s financial security later – and most of the decisions you make when you start receiving Social Security cannot be changed.

The good news is that once you understand how worker, spousal and survivor benefits work together, you can make an informed decision that best fits your situation. The key is to look at Social Security for you and your spouse not as two separate decisions but as one coordinated strategy that accounts for both of your benefits now and in the future.

3 benefits to understand: Worker, spousal and survivor

As of 2026, current Social Security Administration (SSA) rules state that your worker benefit is based on your own earnings record, specifically the 35 years in which you earned the most income (adjusted for inflation). The more you earned – subject to the cap for Social Security withholding – and the longer you worked, the higher this benefit will be. You and your spouse each have your own worker benefit, and it is calculated based on your individual earnings.

A spousal benefit allows one partner to collect based on the other's earnings record. You may even be eligible if you’re divorced and meet certain criteria. If your worker benefit is lower than what you would receive as a spouse, you may be eligible to receive up to 50% of your partner's FRA benefit instead. To qualify, your spouse must already be collecting their own benefit, and you must be at least 62 years old. Each spouse has their own benefit, and claiming as a spouse may be a way to access a higher monthly benefit amount than what you’d get based on your own record.

The survivor benefit is where the higher earner's claiming decision carries the most long-term weight. When one spouse dies, the surviving partner can receive up to 100% of what the deceased spouse was collecting. That means if the higher earner waited longer to collect a higher benefit amount, the survivor inherits that larger check. Delaying the higher earner's benefit may be a powerful move that couples can make to protect the surviving spouse's long-term income.

It’s a common misconception that married couples share one Social Security check. However, this is not true – each spouse has their own benefit, though the claiming decisions are closely connected and may affect the household income overall.

Key claiming ages for couples: 62, FRA and 70

Age 62 is the earliest you can claim, but your monthly benefit will be permanently reduced for every month you collect before your full retirement age (FRA). Depending on your birth year, claiming at 62 may reduce your benefit by as much as 30% if your FRA is 67. You may get more checks over time, but each one will be for a smaller amount.

FRA gives you the baseline benefit. Claiming benefits at FRA means you receive your full calculated benefit with no reduction or additional increase. FRA is 66 for those born between 1943 and 1954. It gradually rises for later birth years, reaching 67 for people born in 1960 or later. Claiming Social Security benefits at FRA avoids the early-claiming reduction, but it still does not produce the largest possible monthly check.

Waiting until age 70 can earn you delayed retirement credits that increase your benefit by roughly 8% for each year you wait beyond your FRA (for people born in 1943 or later). Benefit increases stop once you reach age 70, so there is no financial motivation to delay further. That could potentially mean a 132% higher benefit if claiming at age 70 versus age 67.

For the higher earner in a married couple, this boost over FRA may significantly increase the household's guaranteed monthly income – and the survivor's future income if one spouse dies before the other.

Common claiming approaches (and who they work for)

Some married couples may choose to have both spouses claim Social Security benefits early. This may boost near-term cash flow and help if you are retiring sooner, are dealing with health concerns, or have limited savings and need income right away. The trade-off is a permanently lower monthly benefit and reduced survivor protection.

A split approach can also be an option, where the higher earner waits to claim while the lower earner claims sooner. This may provide some income now while allowing the higher benefit to grow, which may help protect the surviving spouse later. This approach can be a middle ground for married couples where one partner earned significantly more, since it protects the surviving spouse without requiring both benefits to be deferred.

For some married couples, both may choose to delay benefits. While this may aid in maximizing monthly income, it generally requires using savings, wages from part-time work or distributions from retirement accounts to cover expenses in the meantime. This approach may make the most sense for married couples in good health with longevity in the family and adequate assets to bridge the income gap.

It is important to remember these are general frameworks, not a one-size-fits-all approach to collecting Social Security. Your specific income needs, health outlook, savings and tax situation will shape what works best for you.

Work, taxes and Medicare: The ‘hidden’ factors

If you claim Social Security before FRA and continue working, the earnings test may temporarily reduce your benefit. In 2026, SSA withholds $1 for every $2 earned above the annual limit, or $1 for every $3 above a higher limit during the year you reach FRA. The reduction applies only to earnings before the month you reach FRA, and withheld benefits are later factored back into your monthly Social Security payment once you reach FRA.

Historically, up to 85% of Social Security benefits could be subject to federal income tax depending on a couple’s combined income. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act added a new $6,000 deduction for taxpayers age 65 and older – or $12,000 for qualifying married couples – on top of the standard deduction and existing senior deduction.

However, this provision phases out at higher income levels, starting at $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for married couples, and is fully eliminated at $175,000 and $250,000, respectively.

Medicare can be another thing to consider. Before you sign up for Medicare, it’s important to know that higher income may increase your Part B and Part D costs through IRMAA (the income-related monthly adjustment amount). So collecting Social Security, plus the timing of Roth conversions, asset sales or retirement distributions, may matter as well.

How Social Security fits into your retirement income plan

Your Social Security benefit is one piece of your broader financial picture that includes savings, investments and household expenses. A practical starting point for married couples may be to separate essential expenses from discretionary spending. Social Security can be a stable source of guaranteed, inflation-adjusted income. If this amount is enough to cover the non-negotiables such as housing, healthcare, utilities and food, you may have a solid base for your retirement income.

If delaying Social Security makes sense but you need income in the meantime, a bridge strategy may help. That might include selling assets in a brokerage account, taking distributions from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or working part time. The benefit is a higher future payment, which also increases the base for annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). Over time, those larger COLAs can compound and meaningfully boost your total income.

Coordinating Social Security with your 401(k) and IRA distributions should also be considered. Once required minimum distributions (RMDs) begin at age 73 (age 75 if you were born after 1959), the added income may increase your tax bill. Planning ahead, including taking into account any potential Roth conversions in lower-income years before RMDs begin, may help reduce future taxes.

A practical checklist for married couples nearing retirement

The following is a simple Social Security checklist for married couples nearing retirement:

The bottom line

For married couples, it’s important to claim Social Security benefits in a strategic way that is tailored to their unique situation. That’s because the choices may not affect just monthly income, but they could also impact a surviving spouse's financial security for the rest of their life. Understanding the connection between worker, spousal and survivor benefits; knowing how claiming age affects your monthly benefit amount; and accounting for the secondary factors around taxes and Medicare may give you an idea for which approach is best for you and your spouse’s financial situation.

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