How much you should expect for spousal Social Security benefits

Your spousal benefit will turn out to be 50% of your spouse’s benefit if you decide to start payments at full retirement age. The full retirement age depends on the birth year, and it usually revolves around 66 or 67.

If your spouse decides to collect $3,000 per month at full retirement age, then your spousal benefit will automatically be $1,500 if you decide to start payments at the right time (full retirement age).

When you should claim Social Security spousal payments

If you want to begin collecting spousal benefits before reaching full retirement age, then you need to know what to expect, and that is a lower amount of money. For instance, if your full retirement age is 66 years old and you decide to collect your spousal benefits at 62, you will receive 32.5% of your spouse’s monthly benefit.

However, if you claim spousal benefits at 65, you might receive less than 50% of your spouse’s monthly benefit, based on the month you initiate collecting those payments. In this case, it solely depends on the circumstances, as you might be eligible to receive spousal benefits earlier, without any reductions.