The ‘Spousal Bump’

The ‘Spousal Bump’
Arek Socha/Pixabay
|Updated:

Recently, I’ve received emails from several readers who asked questions about something they call the “spousal bump.” It’s a term I never heard before, and it made me chuckle. It sounds to me like some kind of “dirty dancing” move done by an old married couple in a shady nightclub! I can just see a geezer and his wife thumping their rumps up against each other on a dance floor. But, of course, I know that’s not what my readers are talking about. Instead, they are referring to the extra benefits a wife would get as a spouse on her husband’s Social Security record. So, here are a couple of questions about the “spousal bump.”

Q: I turn my full retirement age, 66 and 2 months, in March 2021. I am scheduled to get $2,980 from Social Security if I file then. But everything I read and hear from so-called experts tells me to wait until 70 before I file for benefits. If I wait until then, I should get about $3,900 per month. One reason I am encouraged to do this is the extra widows benefits my wife would get, assuming I die first. She is also 66. She took her Social Security at 62. She only gets $550 per month. I have three questions. How much of a spousal bump would she get if I file now, at my full retirement age? I’m assuming it’s half of my FRA benefit. How much would she get if I wait until age 70 to file? I’m assuming it’s half of my age-70 rate. And finally, do you think I should file now or wait until 70?
Tom Margenau
Tom Margenau
Author
Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSA’s public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” If you have a Social Security question, contact him at [email protected]
Related Topics