“Your spousal benefits max out at 50% of what your spouse receives from Social Security at their full retirement age. So if your spouse signs up at their full retirement age and gets $2,000 a month from Social Security, you’re eligible for $1,000 a month.
Furthermore, your spouse can grow their Social Security benefit based on their own wage history by delaying their claim past full retirement age. But you can’t grow a spousal benefit…
While you can’t grow your spousal benefits by delaying your claim past your full retirement age, you can reduce your spousal benefits by claiming them early. Those benefits will be available to you once you reach the age of 62. That’s the earliest age you can file for Social Security based on your own earnings record, too.
But if you sign up for spousal benefits early, they’ll be slashed on a permanent basis. And seeing as how they max out at 50% of your spouse’s benefit at full retirement age, you may not want to do anything that leaves you with even less money. This especially holds true if you don’t have much retirement savings to supplement those benefits.”
4 Things You Need to Know About Social Security Spousal Benefits in 2026 | The Motley Fool