Social Security Spousal and Survivor Calculator

How it works

Each spouse's own check starts from their primary insurance amount (PIA), the monthly benefit at full retirement age (FRA). Each PIA step rounds down to the next lower 10 cents (42 U.S.C. § 415(a)(1)(A)). Claiming before FRA cuts the check by 5/9 of 1% a month for the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% for each month after that (20 CFR 404.410(a)). Waiting past FRA, up to age 70, adds delayed credits, rounded down to the next lower 10 cents (20 CFR 404.313(b)(1)). The highest check you could qualify for may not be the one you are paid (20 CFR 404.304). Estimate a PIA from career wages in the Social Security benefit calculator.

While both spouses live, the lower earner can add a spousal benefit once the higher earner has filed and the lower earner is 62 or older (20 CFR 404.330(c)). The spousal benefit is half of the higher earner's PIA (20 CFR 404.333). It is reduced by the lower earner's own retirement check, but not below zero (20 CFR 404.407(a)). So the total paid is never more than the single highest benefit (SSA POMS RS 00615.020). Starting before FRA with no child in care cuts the spousal part (SSA POMS RS 00615.201). The cut is 25/36 of 1% a month for the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% for each month after that (20 CFR 404.410(b)). See the Social Security spousal benefit calculator.

At the first death, one check stops. The survivor is paid the larger of their own check and the survivor check. This calculator assumes the survivor starts the survivor check at the age entered for the first death and starts their own check at the claiming age entered for that spouse. Until that claiming age only the survivor check is paid. At the survivor's FRA, the survivor check equals the deceased's PIA (20 CFR 404.338(a)). The survivor's FRA comes from its own table (20 CFR 404.409(b)). Delayed credits the deceased earned pass to the survivor too (20 CFR 404.313(e)(1)). Starting from age 60 cuts the survivor check by up to 28.5%, spread evenly over the months from 60 to the survivor's FRA (20 CFR 404.410(c)(1)). Unlike own and spousal checks, the survivor cut never goes past 28.5% (SSA POMS RS 00615.301).

Formula

own_early = PIA − ceil_dime(PIA × (5/9% × min(m, 36) + 5/12% × max(m − 36, 0)))   (20 CFR 404.410(a))
own_delayed = PIA + floor_dime(PIA × months_delayed × DRC_rate)   (20 CFR 404.313(b)(1)–(2), up to age 70)
spousal_start s = max(lower_claim_age, higher_claim_age + 12 × (higher_birth_year − lower_birth_year))
spousal_base = max($0.00, floor_dime(0.5 × higher_PIA) − lower_PIA)   (20 CFR 404.333, 404.407(a), POMS RS 00615.020)
spousal = spousal_base − ceil_dime(spousal_base × (25/36% × min(k, 36) + 5/12% × max(k − 36, 0)))   (20 CFR 404.410(b))
survivor_base = deceased_benefit if claimed; PIA + DRCs to death if unclaimed past FRA (20 CFR 404.313(e)(1)); else PIA
survivor_age_adj = survivor_base − ceil_dime(survivor_base × 0.285 × months_early ÷ months_60_to_survivor_FRA)   (20 CFR 404.410(c)(1))
if deceased claimed before retirement FRA: survivor = min(survivor_age_adj, max(deceased_benefit, floor_dime(0.825 × PIA)))   (20 CFR 404.338(c))
household_before = paid_own_1 + paid_own_2 + paid_spousal;   household_after = max(survivor, survivor_own if the survivor has reached their claiming age, else $0.00);   drop = household_before − household_after
lump_sum = min(3 × deceased_PIA, $255.00) if deceased_PIA > $0.00 else $0.00   (42 U.S.C. § 402(i), 20 CFR 404.390)

Example

Take the default couple: Spouse 1 (born 1962, $2,400.00 PIA) claims at 70, and Spouse 2 (born 1964, $900.00 PIA) claims at 62. Spouse 1's retirement FRA is 67 years (20 CFR 404.409(a)). Waiting 36 months to age 70 adds 24% in delayed credits ($576.00) for a check of $2,976.00. Spouse 2's retirement FRA is also 67 years; claiming 60 months early at 62 cuts $900.00 by 30% ($270.00) to $630.00. Half of Spouse 1's PIA is $1,200.00, leaving a $300.00 spousal base ($1,200.00 − $900.00). Because Spouse 2 is 68 (past FRA) when Spouse 1 files at 70, the spousal check is the full $300.00. Household income before death is $2,976.00 + $630.00 + $300.00 = $3,906.00 a month.

Suppose Spouse 1 dies at 77 when Spouse 2 is 75 (past Spouse 2's 67-year survivor FRA under 20 CFR 404.409(b)). Spouse 2's survivor benefit is 100% of Spouse 1's check, which replaces Spouse 2's smaller checks. Household income after death is $2,976.00 a month, a drop of $930.00 ($11,160.00 a year), plus the $255.00 lump-sum death payment. Contrast an early claim where Spouse 1 claimed at 62 and died when Spouse 2 was 60: the 84-month age reduction cuts the $2,400.00 base by $684.00 to $1,716.00.

Assumptions and limitations

• Formulas follow 42 U.S.C. § 402 and § 415 and 20 CFR Part 404 (404.304 to 404.410). They also follow SSA POMS RS 00615.020, RS 00615.201, RS 00615.301, and RS 00615.320. Each 50% spousal base, early-claim survivor floor, and delayed credit increase rounds down to the next lower $0.10. Each early-claiming reduction for old-age, spousal, and widow(er) benefits rounds up to the next higher $0.10 before subtraction.
• Each spouse is assumed born on or after January 2 of their birth year. Under 20 CFR 404.102 and 404.409, a January 1 birth uses the prior year's table. Spousal checks follow the deemed-filing rule (42 U.S.C. § 402(r)) and POMS RS 00615.020 Method C. That rule does not reach people born before 1954. For a lower earner born in 1953 or earlier, the spousal start shown here may not match what SSA pays. Confirm the exact cutoff with SSA. The spousal base is max($0.00, floor_dime(0.5 × higher PIA) − lower PIA). Spousal reduction months run from max(lower claim age, lower earner's age when the higher earner claims) to the lower earner's FRA.
• Household income before the first death counts only checks already being paid at that age. Each spouse's own check is included once they reach their claiming age, and the spousal check is included once both have claimed. A negative monthly drop means the survivor's income rises at the death, which happens when the deceased had not yet claimed.
• The survivor is assumed to claim the survivor benefit at the age entered for the first death (60 to 110). The survivor's own retirement benefit counts only from the claiming age entered for that spouse. Before then, only the survivor check is paid. From then on, the larger of the two is paid. So a survivor who takes the survivor check first and switches to a larger own check later is shown, with the switch age and amount. The reverse plan is not modeled. That plan takes the own check first and starts the survivor check later, at full retirement age, to avoid the age cut. Here the survivor check is always cut for the age at the first death.
• Not modeled: child-in-care checks, the child-in-care month exclusion in 20 CFR 404.410(c)(1), dependent parent's checks, and the family maximum under 20 CFR 404.403. Disabled widow(er) checks at ages 50 to 59 (deemed age 60 under 20 CFR 404.410(c)(2)(i)) are also omitted. So are the special death PIA (20 CFR 404.212(b)), earnings test, future COLAs, Medicare premiums, and $1.00 rounding. Input limits of $0.00 to $100,000.00 for PIA, 1930 to 2010 for birth year, and 60 to 110 for survivor age are this page's own.

These figures are estimates for learning and planning, not financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Terms of use.

What to do with the result

Get both PIAs from your Social Security statements. Check the second table across claiming ages 62 to 70. On the default couple, waiting from 62 to 70 lifts the check at 75 from $1,980.00 to $2,976.00. You can also find a PIA from wages in the Social Security benefit calculator.

Plan for the smaller check to stop when the first spouse dies. On the default entries, monthly income drops by $930.00 ($11,160.00 a year) even when Spouse 1 waited until 70. Size life coverage in the life insurance needs calculator. Test claiming ages in the Social Security claim age calculator.

Check if the survivor should take one check first and switch later. Deemed filing (42 U.S.C. § 402(r)) does not apply to survivor checks. A survivor can take $1,716.00 at 60 (on a $2,400.00 PIA) and switch to their own check at 70. Or they can take $630.00 at 62 and switch at FRA in the Social Security widow benefit calculator.

Review family and divorce rules if kids draw on the record or if a marriage lasted 10 years before divorce (20 CFR 404.336(a)(2)). Test caps in the Social Security family maximum calculator. You can also check spousal offsets (20 CFR 404.333) in the Social Security spousal benefit calculator.

Frequently asked questions