What married couples receive from Social Security in April 2025

Social Security pays each spouse based on their own work record, not as a household unit. When you and your spouse both claim, you each get a separate monthly payment calculated from your individual earnings history. The April 2025 payment reflects the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) announced in October 2024, which affects all beneficiaries regardless of marital status.

The payment you receive depends on three things: when you were born, when you claimed benefits, and how much you earned during your working years. Your spouse's payment is independent — it does not reduce yours, and yours does not reduce theirs. However, the age at which each of you claims significantly changes the amount each person receives for life.

If one spouse has not worked or has a very limited work record, they may be may have access to to a spousal benefit — a payment based on the other spouse's earnings record instead of their own. This is a separate calculation with its own rules about timing and age.

Key Takeaways

  • Each spouse receives a payment based on their own work history; one person's benefit does not reduce the other's.
  • Claiming before your full retirement age permanently reduces your monthly payment, while delaying past full retirement age increases it by about 8 percent per year.
  • A spouse with little or no work history may receive a spousal benefit worth up to 50 percent of the higher-earning spouse's full retirement age amount, but only if the higher earner has already claimed.
  • The April 2025 COLA adjustment applies to all current beneficiaries and affects the starting amount for anyone newly claiming in April or later.
  • Married couples should coordinate their claiming strategy because the decision is permanent and affects survivor benefits if one spouse dies.

How your individual benefit is calculated

Social Security looks at your 35 highest-earning years and calculates an average monthly income. That average is then run through a formula that weights early years more heavily than later ones — this is why someone who earned $30,000 per year does not receive half the benefit of someone who earned $60,000 per year. The result is your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), the payment you would receive if you claimed at your full retirement age.

Your full retirement age depends on your birth year. If you were born between 1943 and 1954, it is 66. If you were born between 1955 and 1959, it rises by two months for each year of birth. If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67. You can claim as early as 62, but doing so reduces your payment by roughly 25 to 30 percent depending on your birth year. You can also delay claiming past your full retirement age, which increases your payment by about 8 percent per year until age 70.

The April 2025 COLA adjustment is applied to your PIA before any reduction or increase for early or late claiming. This means the adjustment affects the base amount from which all other calculations flow.

Spousal benefits and how they work

If you are married and one spouse has a significantly lower work history than the other, the lower-earning spouse may receive a spousal benefit. This benefit is calculated as a percentage of the higher-earning spouse's PIA — typically up to 50 percent — but only if the higher-earning spouse has already claimed benefits.

The age at which the lower-earning spouse claims also matters. Claiming a spousal benefit before full retirement age reduces the amount, just as it does for a benefit based on your own record. If you claim a spousal benefit at 62 and your spouse's full retirement age is 67, you might receive only 32 to 35 percent of their PIA instead of 50 percent.

There is a rule called Government Pension Offset that affects some couples where one spouse receives a pension from work not covered by Social Security — such as certain government jobs. If this applies to you, your spousal benefit may be reduced or eliminated. Similarly, the Windfall Elimination Provision can reduce your own Social Security benefit if you also receive a non-covered pension.

Survivor benefits for married couples

When one spouse dies, the surviving spouse becomes may have access to to a survivor benefit based on the deceased spouse's record. This benefit is typically 75 to 100 percent of what the deceased was receiving (or would have received at full retirement age). The surviving spouse can claim this benefit as early as 60, though the amount is reduced if claimed before full retirement age.

Children under 19 (or 19 if still in high school) and disabled adult children may also receive survivor benefits on the deceased parent's record. These payments come from the same Social Security account and do not increase the surviving spouse's benefit — they are separate payments to separate family members.

This is why the claiming decision matters even after both spouses are receiving benefits. If the higher-earning spouse delays claiming to age 70 and then dies at 71, the surviving spouse receives a much larger survivor benefit than if that spouse had claimed at 66. Couples should discuss this trade-off when deciding when to claim.

How the April 2025 COLA affects your payment

The COLA is announced each October and takes effect in January for current beneficiaries. The April payment reflects this adjustment. If you are already receiving benefits, your April 2025 payment includes the COLA that was announced in October 2024. If you claim for the first time in April 2025 or later, your starting payment is calculated using the adjusted bend points and formulas that incorporate the COLA.

The COLA is not a fixed percentage — it varies year to year based on inflation. It applies to your PIA, which means it affects both your own benefit and any spousal benefit calculated from your record. A surviving spouse's benefit also increases by the same COLA.

If you are considering when to claim, the COLA does not change the long-term math significantly. Delaying one year still increases your lifetime benefit by roughly 8 percent, even after accounting for COLA adjustments. The decision should be based on your health, life expectancy, and household needs rather than on the timing of the annual adjustment.

Coordinating your claiming strategy as a couple

Because each spouse's benefit is independent, you and your spouse can claim at different ages. One common strategy is for the higher-earning spouse to delay claiming to 70 while the lower-earning spouse claims earlier. This maximizes the household's lifetime income if the higher earner lives into their 80s, because the delayed benefit is much larger and continues for the survivor if the higher earner dies first.

Another consideration is whether one spouse qualifies for a spousal benefit. If the lower-earning spouse has a very small work record, they may receive more by claiming a spousal benefit at their full retirement age than by claiming on their own record. A financial advisor or Social Security representative can run the numbers for your specific situation.

Once you claim, you cannot undo the decision. You can request a withdrawal within 12 months of claiming and restart your benefits later, but this is a one-time option and comes with restrictions. For this reason, couples should discuss their strategy before either person files.

What changes if one spouse has not worked

A spouse who did not work or worked very little may still receive a benefit. If they are at least 62 and married to someone who is already receiving Social Security, they can claim a spousal benefit. The amount is typically 50 percent of the working spouse's PIA if claimed at full retirement age, or less if claimed earlier.

If the working spouse dies, the non-working spouse becomes may have access to to a survivor benefit, which can be as much as 100 percent of what the deceased was receiving. This survivor benefit can be claimed as early as 60 (or 50 if disabled).

A spouse who did not work should still create a Social Security account and check their earnings record at ssa.gov to make sure there are no errors. Even a small work history can affect the calculation, and errors should be corrected before claiming.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my spouse's benefit reduce mine?

No. Each person receives a benefit based on their own work record. Your spouse claiming does not change your payment, and you claiming does not change theirs. Spousal benefits are paid from Social Security's overall fund, not from your individual account.

Can we both claim at 62 and then one of us switch to a spousal benefit later?

No. If you claim your own benefit before full retirement age, you are locked into that decision. You cannot later switch to a spousal benefit and receive a larger amount. The rules that allowed this strategy ended in 2015 for anyone born after January 1, 1954.

What happens to my benefit if my spouse dies?

Your own benefit does not change. However, if your spouse was receiving a larger benefit than you, you may be may have access to to a survivor benefit equal to what they were receiving. You would need to contact Social Security to switch to the survivor benefit if it is larger than your own.

Should we wait until April to claim so we get the COLA increase?

The COLA is already built into the benefit formula for anyone claiming in April 2025 or later. Waiting specifically for the COLA adjustment is not a strong reason to delay, because the long-term benefit of claiming later (roughly 8 percent per year) usually outweighs the one-time COLA bump. Your health and household cash flow should drive the timing decision.

Can I claim spousal benefits if my spouse hasn't claimed yet?

Not in most cases. Generally, the higher-earning spouse must have already filed for benefits before the lower-earning spouse can claim a spousal benefit. There are narrow exceptions for spouses age 62 or older in certain situations, but the rule is that you cannot claim on someone else's record unless they have already claimed on their own.