How does the Social Security spousal benefit work?

The spousal benefit tops your own benefit up to as much as half of your spouse's amount at their full retirement age. It is not additional money on top of your own: you receive the higher of the two calculations, not both. The worker must have claimed before a spousal benefit can be paid.

Claiming before your own full retirement age reduces the spousal amount permanently, and unlike a worker's benefit, a spousal benefit does not grow by delaying past full retirement age. Survivor benefits are a separate and more generous calculation, which is why the higher earner's claiming date matters so much for a couple.

An estimate for planning, not a quote. Medicare and the Marketplace set your real figures.