If you've never worked or paid Social Security taxes (or didn't pay them for long enough), you won't be eligible to claim Social Security retirement benefits on your own account. However, you may be able to receive spousal benefits through your spouse's account. You can file a claim under their account as early as age 62, as long as your spouse has already filed to collect their own benefits. You will also be able to apply for Medicare health coverage at age 65.

Spousal Social Security Rules

For many working couples, both partners will be eligible to collect individual benefits. However, that does not preclude either person from collecting under the other person's account. When you apply for benefits, both accounts will be checked to determine which claim will result in a higher benefit amount.

If your own benefit is larger,🐬 you will automatically receive that amount. If your spousal benefit🗹 is larger, you will receive a combination of benefits that total that amount.

While you can apply for spousal benefits as early as age 62, your benefit will be permanently reduced from what you would receive at your 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:full retirement age. Full retirement age, for Social Security purposes, is between 66 and 67, depending on your year of birth.

One exception: If you are caring for your spouse's child who is either under age 16 or who receives 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Social Security disabili﷽ty benefits, you can collect spousal benefits at any age without a reduction.

In addition, if you decide to claim before full retirement age, your benefit amount may be reduced if you continue working, depending on how much you earn. Eligibility for government, foreign, or public service pensions may also affect your payments.

If you wait until full retirement age to claim benefits, you'll receive the maximum amount you can collect as a spouse. That is equal to 50% of your spouse's benefit amount.

Changes to Social Security Law

Some changes to the law in recent years have affected how you can collect spousal benefits. If you were born on or before Jan. 1, 1954, you may still be eligible to use a benefits-claiming strategy known as a "restricted application" to increase your benefits. Younger recipients won't be able to use this strategy, which was ended by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015.

If you reach full retirement age and are eligible for your own benefits as well as spousal benefits, you may choose to collect benefits under your spouse's account now and defer your own benefits until later. To file a restricted application, both you and your spouse must be of full retirement age, and you both must have filed for Social Security benefits.

Filing a restricted application can result in a higher benefit amount when you later file for Social Security under your own account. The reason is you will have accrued delayed retirement credits for each year you deferred retirement, up to age 70, when benefits max out. However, only one person per couple may collect spousal benefits while earning delayed retirement credits on 🌞his or her own account.

And, to repeat, this option is no longer available to anyone who wasn't born on or before Jan. 1, 1954.

The Bottom Line

If you're a spouse who doesn't qualify for Social Security on your own, you may be eligible to receive benefits based on your spouse's earnings record. If you have questions, contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) via the phone or in person. You can find .