3. Upgrade your regular benefit to a spousal benefit
Even if you earned enough during your career to qualify for Social Security on your own, if your earnings weren’t that strong, your benefit may not be very high. However, you may not have to settle for that. If you’re married to someone who’s eligible for Social Security, or were married for at least 10 years to someone who is, you may be entitled to spousal benefits based on their earnings.
Your spousal benefit will amount to 50% of what your current or former spouse collects. If you’re married, you can’t collect spousal benefits until your spouse files for Social Security.
Let’s say your spouse is younger than you, so you file for Social Security first and are given a monthly benefit of $1,250. If your spouse was a significantly higher earner than you and is eligible for a monthly benefit of $2,800, once they claim Social Security, you can bump up your monthly payments to $1,400.
Get more out of Social Security
Regardless of what your nest egg looks like in retirement, you’ll probably want to get the most you can out of Social Security. These moves could be your ticket to snagging a higher benefit — and enjoying the freedom that comes with it.
