Spousal & Survivor Benefits

Social Security pays benefits not only to retired or disabled workers, but also to certain spouses, divorced spouses, surviving spouses, and children on a worker's record. Spousal benefits can pay up to 50% of the worker's primary insurance amount (PIA), subject to age and filing rules. Survivor benefits can be larger: a surviving spouse may receive up to 100% of the deceased worker's benefit amount if claimed at full retirement age for survivors. As of April 9, 2026, one of the biggest recent legal changes is that the Social Security Fairness Act repealed the Government Pension Offset, which had previously reduced many spousal and survivor benefits for people with certain noncovered public pensions.

Current Law (2026)

Social Security provides benefits to eligible spouses and survivors of covered workers based on the worker's earnings record and the claimant's age, relationship, and filing status.

Spousal Benefits

Survivor Benefits

Legal Authority

• 42 U.S.C. § 402(b), (c) - Wife's and husband's insurance benefits
• 42 U.S.C. § 402(d) - Child's insurance benefits
• 42 U.S.C. § 402(e), (f) - Widow's, widower's, and surviving divorced spouse's insurance benefits
• 42 U.S.C. § 402(g) - Mother's and father's insurance benefits
• 42 U.S.C. § 407 - Protection of Social Security benefits from assignment, levy, and similar process, subject to statutory exceptions

Implementing Regulations

• 20 C.F.R. § 404.330 - Entitlement to wife's or husband's benefits
• 20 C.F.R. § 404.331 - Divorced spouse benefits
• 20 C.F.R. § 404.332 - When spouse's benefits begin and end
• 20 C.F.R. § 404.333 - Amount of spouse's benefits
• 20 C.F.R. § 404.335 - Entitlement to widow's or widower's benefits
• 20 C.F.R. § 404.336 - Entitlement to surviving divorced spouse's benefits
• 20 C.F.R. § 404.337 - When widow's or widower's benefits begin and end
• 20 C.F.R. § 404.338 - Amount of widow's and widower's benefits
• 20 C.F.R. § 404.339 - Mother's and father's benefits
• 20 C.F.R. § 404.340 - When mother's and father's benefits begin and end
• 20 C.F.R. § 404.345 - How SSA determines whether a claimant is the insured person's spouse
• 20 C.F.R. § 404.350 - Child's benefits
• 20 C.F.R. § 404.391 - Lump-sum death payment
• 20 C.F.R. § 404.392 - Who may receive the lump-sum death payment

How It Works

SSA pays your own retirement benefit first, then adds a spousal "excess" if the spousal rate would be higher. A spouse does not receive a full retirement benefit and a full 50% spousal benefit simultaneously — the spousal benefit tops up the difference. If your own PIA is $900 and your spouse's PIA is $2,400, your maximum spousal rate is $1,200 (50% of $2,400); you receive your own $900 plus an excess of $300, for a total of $1,200. If your own PIA already exceeds 50% of your spouse's PIA, the spousal benefit adds nothing. Spousal benefits earn no delayed retirement credits under 42 U.S.C. § 402(b) — waiting past your own FRA to claim the spousal benefit does not increase it the way delaying your own retirement benefit does. If your own benefit exceeds the spousal rate, maximize it through delay; if the spousal rate is higher, there's no reason to wait past your FRA to claim it.

Survivor benefits are more flexible than spousal benefits and allow a powerful strategy: a surviving spouse can start survivor benefits as early as age 60 at 71.5% of the deceased's benefit, let their own retirement benefit grow with delayed credits until 70, then switch to their own higher retirement benefit. Alternatively, they can claim their own retirement benefit now and switch to the larger survivor benefit later. This "file-and-switch" flexibility — not available for spousal benefits on a living worker's record — is one of the most effective income-planning tools available to surviving spouses. A qualifying divorced spouse's claim under 42 U.S.C. § 402(b) has no effect on the worker's own benefit or a current spouse's benefit — the divorced spouse's entitlement draws from the same earnings record without reducing anyone else's payment.

The earnings test applies to both spousal and survivor benefits claimed before FRA: earning above $24,480 in 2026 triggers temporary withholding of $1 for every $2 in excess earnings. Withheld amounts are credited back at FRA — not a permanent penalty — but it complicates cash flow for working claimants. The Social Security Fairness Act (signed January 5, 2025, P.L. 118-273) repealed the Government Pension Offset, which had reduced spousal and survivor benefits for public employees with pensions from non-Social Security-covered employment. As of July 2025, SSA had processed over 3.1 million corrective payments; former public employees previously denied or reduced because of the GPO should call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 to confirm they're receiving the corrected amounts.

How It Affects You

If you're the lower earner in a marriage: Your spousal benefit pays up to 50% of your spouse's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) — but only the excess above your own retirement benefit matters. If your own PIA is $800 and your spouse's PIA is $2,400, you'd receive your own $800 plus a spousal top-up of $400, for $1,200 total. If your own PIA already exceeds half of your spouse's PIA, the spousal benefit adds nothing. Claiming before your own FRA permanently reduces the spousal benefit — claiming at 62 with an FRA of 67 reduces the spousal rate from 50% to 32.5% of the worker's PIA. Waiting past FRA provides no further increase: unlike the worker's own benefit, the spousal benefit does not earn delayed retirement credits. Your spouse must already be collecting their own benefit (or have filed and suspended) before you can collect a spousal benefit on their record.

If you're the higher earner making retirement-timing decisions: Every month you delay your own benefit past FRA (up to age 70), you earn an 8% annual delayed retirement credit that permanently increases your check — and, critically, becomes the base from which your surviving spouse's 100% survivor benefit is calculated. On a $2,000/month FRA benefit: claiming at 62 gives $1,400/month; waiting to 70 gives $2,640/month. If your spouse outlives you by 20 years, they would receive $1,400/month vs. $2,640/month — a lifetime income difference of over $292,000. The higher-earner delaying is often the most powerful survivor protection available in a couple's financial plan. See Social Security claiming strategies for the full break-even analysis.

If you've recently lost a spouse: Don't wait to apply — survivor benefits can start as early as age 60 (age 50 if you are disabled). At 60, you receive 71.5% of the deceased worker's benefit amount; the percentage rises toward 100% as your claiming age approaches survivor FRA. You also retain the option to switch: you can start survivor benefits at 60, let your own retirement benefit continue growing with delayed credits, and then switch to your own higher retirement benefit at 70 (or vice versa — claim your own benefit now and switch to a survivor benefit later if the survivor benefit is higher). This filing flexibility is more powerful than most couples realize. To apply, contact SSA at 1-800-772-1213 or visit a local field office — you cannot apply for survivor benefits online. Bring: the deceased's death certificate, your marriage certificate, Social Security numbers for both parties, and your bank account information for direct deposit. The $255 lump-sum death payment is a one-time payment to the surviving spouse; apply for it within two years of the death.

If you're a divorced spouse or surviving divorced spouse: A marriage that lasted at least 10 years and ended in divorce (not annulment) creates a potential spousal or survivor benefit on your ex-spouse's record. Your claim does not reduce your ex-spouse's own benefit or the benefits paid to their current spouse. For spousal benefits, you must be currently unmarried and at least 62; your ex must also be at least 62 and eligible for Social Security. For survivor benefits after an ex-spouse's death, you must be unmarried (or remarried after age 60) and at least 60. If you've been divorced for at least 2 years, you can collect spousal benefits on your ex-spouse's record even if they haven't yet started collecting their own Social Security — you don't have to wait for them to claim.

If you have a noncovered public pension (teacher, firefighter, police officer in a non-covered state): The Social Security Fairness Act (signed January 5, 2025) repealed the Government Pension Offset — the rule that used to reduce spousal and survivor benefits by $2 for every $3 of your public pension. Before the repeal, a retired teacher with a $3,000/month pension and a deceased spouse's Social Security benefit of $1,500/month would have received $0 in survivor benefits (because $2 × $1,500 = $3,000, eliminating the entire benefit). Now they receive the full $1,500/month. SSA has been processing retroactive payments for months after December 2023; if you were previously denied or reduced because of GPO, contact SSA at 1-800-772-1213 to verify you're receiving the corrected amount. As of July 2025, SSA had sent over 3.1 million corrective payments under the new law.

State Variations

Spousal and survivor Social Security benefits are federal. State family-law rules can still matter indirectly when SSA is determining whether a marriage or divorce qualifies under federal law, because SSA often looks to state marital-status rules in resolving relationship questions.

Pending Legislation (119th Congress)

As of April 9, 2026, the most important current-law development in this area is the enacted repeal of the Government Pension Offset, not a newly enacted rewrite of the spousal-and-survivor benefit structure itself. The long-standing $255 lump-sum death payment remains in place unless Congress changes the statute.

Recent Developments

• January 5, 2025 Social Security Fairness Act: The President signed H.R. 82, P.L. 118-273, repealing both the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision for months after December 2023.
• SSA implementation of the GPO repeal continued through 2025: SSA reported by July 7, 2025 that it had already sent more than 3.1 million payments under the Social Security Fairness Act, reflecting retroactive and ongoing benefit corrections for affected beneficiaries.
• SSA survivor guidance continues to emphasize claiming flexibility: SSA's current survivor-benefit materials still note that surviving spouses can start as early as age 60 and that the percentage rises from 71.5% toward 100% as claiming age approaches survivor FRA.
• As of April 9, 2026: The core rules on spousal percentages, survivor ages, and the $255 lump-sum death payment remain structurally stable, with the GPO repeal standing out as the main recent legal change.