Mercer Advisors Social Security Series
How to maximize Social Security if you’re in
your 60s & married
Social Security planning is more involved when you’re married because you need to coordinate the three
different benefits you’re each entitled to: Your own retirement benefit, your spouse benefit, and your
survivors benefit. Follow these five steps to make the most of your Social Security benefits.
STEP 1: Get your benefit estimates
STEP 3: Analyze your options
The Social Security Administration only mails personalized
Social Security Statements in five-year intervals, so you may
need to go to the ssa.gov website to get an estimate of your
retirement benefit.
When and how you and your spouse claim your benefits
depends on your ages, benefit amounts, estimated life expectancies, work status, and financial situation. To help you make
informed decisions, researchers have developed general
claiming guidelines and specialized software.
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Importantly, there are thousands of different benefit claiming
combinations and specific Social Security rules you need to
follow. So it’s essential to analyze your personal situation and
research the details before making any irreversible decisions.
Married Couple Claiming Example*
For illustrative purposes only. There are different guidelines for each couple’s specific
situation and thousands of possible claiming strategy combinations.
It’s essential to analyze your circumstances before making any decisions.
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In addition to offering access to your statement, the Social
Security website has a Retirement Estimator that allows you to
input future earnings to project your benefit at different ages.
This calculator can produce a more accurate estimate. That’s
because the benefits on Social Security Statements assume
you’ll continue to work at your current earnings level until the
listed claiming age, which may not be your situation.
STEP 2: Coordinate to maximize lifetime income
When your spouse dies, his or her Social Security benefit is
terminated and you lose that income. However, if your spouse
had the higher benefit check, your current benefit is increased
to that amount.
This right of survivors to step up to the larger check is why it’s
critical for higher earners to maximize their benefit. By waiting
to claim until age 70, higher-benefit spouses can provide the
most joint lifetime income and also lock in the largest survivors benefit.
In fact, even higher earners with shorter life expectancies should
consider delaying their benefit to leave a larger survivors benefit — especially those who are much older than their spouse.
Higher-earning Spouse Example
Waiting to claim until age 70 locks in the largest survivor benefit, and also provides
the most income during both your lifetimes.*
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Both spouses wait to claim their own benefit until age 70.
At full retirement age 66, the higher earner uses the
voluntary suspension provision to “open” his/her record
so the lower earner can claim the spouse benefit.
At full retirement age 66, the lower earner files a
restricted application to collect four years of only
his/her spouse benefit until age 70.
When both spouses reach age 70, they file to start
their own benefits, which are now maximized by
the 32% total in delayed retirement credits.
When the higher earner dies at age 90, the lower earner
steps up to the higher benefit as the survivors benefit.
Lifetime Social Security inflation-adjusted income = $2.75 million
$866,000 more than if both started their own reduced early benefit at age 62
The higher-earning spouse claims an early
reduced benefit at age 62 and dies at age 85
The higher-earning spouse delays claiming
until age 70 and dies at age 85
*Assumptions: Both spouses currently age 62; life expectancy for higher earner is 90, life expectancy for lower
earner is 95. Higher earner’s monthly benefit at full retirement age 66 = $2,642. Spouse’s monthly benefit at
full retirement age 66 = $1,500. Estimated annual 2.8% Social Security cost-of-living adjustments.
The lower-earning spouse steps up to this
inflation-adjusted survivors benefit:
The lower-earning spouse steps up to this
inflation-adjusted survivors benefit:
STEP 4: Know the rules & be prepared
$3,738 / mo.
$44,856 / yr.
$6,580 / mo.
$78,960 / yr.
*Assumptions: Both spouses currently age 62. Higher earner’s monthly benefit at full retirement age 66 = $2,642.
Lower earner’s monthly benefit at full retirement age = $1,500. Estimated annual 2.8% cost-of-living adjustments.
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The Social Security Administration makes it easy to apply for
benefits online. But you may need to go to your local Social
Security office in person to complete some of the optimal
claiming strategies.
When you talk with the Social Security representatives, note that
although they’re helpful, they’re not allowed to offer specific
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How to make the most of Social Security in your 60s
claiming advice. In fact, they understandably may try to help by
identifying the highest benefit you can get today, rather than
the strategy that will bring you the most joint lifetime income.
So prepare for your application process by reviewing and printing the official rules from the ssa.gov Social Security website.
STEP 5: Meet Medicare deadlines & payments
Likewise, if you’re withdrawing or suspending your Social
Security benefit to increase the amount, you have to arrange
to pay your Medicare Part B premiums directly since Social
Security will not be able to deduct payments from your checks.
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If you’re delaying your Social Security benefit, be sure to
meet the age 65 Medicare deadlines. Otherwise, as the Social
Security Administration cautions, your Part B Medicare medical insurance and Part D prescription drug coverage may be
delayed and you could be charged higher premiums.
Additional articles in our Social Security series:
• How to make the most of Social Security in your 60s
• How to maximize Social Security if you’re in your 60s & divorced
• How to maximize Social Security if you’re in your 60s & widowed
• How to increase Social Security if you’re in your 60s & already claimed
Sources: The Official Website of the Social Security Administration, ssa.gov; The Social Security Program Operations Manual System; The Social Security Handbook.
IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this document is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the
purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code, or (ii) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another party any transaction or matter that is contained in this document.
This information is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended as advice for your specific situation. The information provided is based on current Social Security rules
and assumes no changes in program formulas and funding levels.
Mercer Global Advisors Inc. is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and delivers all investment-related services. Mercer Advisors Inc. is the parent company of
Mercer Global Advisors Inc. and is not involved with investment services. ©2014 Mercer Advisors Inc. All rights reserved. v20140904
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