If you're married, it's not a given that both you and your spouse will be eligible for Social Security. It may be that only one of you is entitled to benefits because the other stayed out of the workforce to raise children.
But if both you and your spouse are each eligible for a monthly Social Security benefit based on your individual work histories, you have a prime opportunity to maximize your retirement income. Here are three filing strategies you can look at.
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1. Have both spouses claim benefits at full retirement age
Full retirement age, or FRA, is when you're entitled to your complete monthly Social Security benefit based on your personal income history. That age is either 66, 67, or 66 and a certain number of months, depending on your year of birth.
You're allowed to claim Social Security prior to FRA -- you can sign up as early as age 62. But if you and your spouse each file at FRA, you'll get your full monthly payments without a reduction. And also, you won't have to wait so long to get your hands on that money.
2. Have both spouses delay Social Security
Social Security rewards filers who delay their claims beyond FRA. For each year you do, up until age 70, your monthly benefit gets an 8% boost. And that boost remains in effect for the rest of your life.
If both you and your spouse are able to hold off on Social Security beyond FRA, you'll have that much more combined income from the program to enjoy. And remember, delaying Social Security doesn't have to mean signing up at 70. If that seems like too late an age to continue working through, you could always postpone your filings until age 68 or 69.
To be clear, you may be able to wait on Social Security until age 70 even if you're no longer working. But for many people, it's hard to give up a paycheck without those benefits.
3. Have one spouse delay Social Security while the other files at FRA
Waiting to claim Social Security is not the easiest thing. So what you may want to do is have one of you sign up for benefits at FRA while the other one waits a year or longer for a boosted monthly payday.
Now in this regard, you have choices. You could have the higher earner delay their claim, or you could have the lower earner do so. Your decision should hinge on your financial situation.
Let's say you and your spouse both have an FRA of 67 but your spouse is eligible for $2,400 a month from Social Security and you're only eligible for $1,800. If you both really want to retire at 67, you may decide to have the higher earner claim Social Security for $2,400 in monthly household income. You may find that a benefit of that size combined with modest withdrawals from savings can tide you over until your second monthly Social Security check arrives.
On the other hand, delaying the higher earner's benefit could result in more household income. Waiting a year to claim an $1,800 benefit results in a boost of $144 per month. But waiting a year to claim a $2,400 benefit results in a boost of $192 per month. So if it works for you, having the higher earner delay their claim could be more advantageous.
Ultimately, the nice thing about being married with both spouses eligible for Social Security is that you have options when it comes to filing for benefits. Take the time to talk through different choices so you land on one that's likely to work out well for you.
