Social Security Payments Update: You Could Lose Money If You Delay Getting Your Spousal Benefits

Social Security payments are part of the retirement plan for every worker across the United States, helping retirees and their families by providing a replacement for income.

Social Security Administration stated that its benefits program replaces a portion of your income before retirement based on your lifetime earnings. Social Security is based on the recipients' highest 35 years of earnings and varies depending on how much you earn and when you choose to start benefits.

Usually, one starts receiving Social Security payments once they reach the full retirement age. The full retirement age is 66 if you were born from 1943 to 1854. For those born from 1955 to 1960, the retirement age increases gradually until it reaches 67, while for those born in 1960 or later, full retirement benefits can be paid at age 67.

However, there are instances when one should not wait too long to claim the Social Security payments.

Spousal Benefits

Go Banking Rates reported that if you qualify for spousal benefits, you should not wait too long to apply for Social Security payments as it can cost you a lot of money. SSA noted that spousal benefits are available for those who have not worked or do not have enough Social Security credits to apply for their own Social Security benefits.

One must be at least 62 years old or any age who is caring for a child entitled to receive benefits on your spouse's record and who is either younger than age 16 or disabled.

One's spousal benefits could be up to one-half the amount that your spouse is entitled to receive at their full retirement age.

Most Social Security recipients wait until age 70 to get a bigger check. However, it does not apply to spousal benefits.

Monthly benefits payments are not boosted by waiting until age 70. The spousal benefits hit a ceiling when you reach full retirement age.

Those applying for spousal benefits must be married for at least one year, according to a Bank Rate report. However, if you remarry, you will not be eligible to receive your late spouse's benefit.

Social Security Payments Update

The monthly maximum federal amounts are $841 for 2022 for an eligible individual, while an eligible individual with an eligible spouse will receive $1261. Meanwhile, there will be a payment of $421 for an essential person, as SSA stated on its website.

Monthly payments for the next year are based on increasing the unrounded annual amounts for the current year by the Cost of Living Adjustment effective for January of the following year.

It was reported earlier that Social Security payments and Supplemental Security Income benefits will increase by 5.9% in 2022 for around 70 million Americans. The increase for Social Security benefits started in January 2022 while the increase in SSI payments began on Dec. 30, 2021.

Earning limits for recipients were all increased, including Social Security Disability Insurance.

SSDI is an insurance program that provides for those who can no longer work due to a disability.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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