WOMEN TYPICALLY LIVE LONGER¹ and earn less than men do² — and both those factors put them at greater risk of outliving their money, according to Nevenka Vrdoljak, managing director, Chief Investment Office, Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank. Saving and investing more for retirement help, of course. But there’s another often-overlooked move that can go a long way toward helping women create a more comfortable and secure future for themselves — knowing when to claim their Social Security benefits. “Optimizing your Social Security benefits can be life-changing,” Vrdoljak notes.

But how can you determine the right claiming strategy for you? No matter what your age, marital status or other life circumstances might be, the answers to the foundational questions below can help you make choices that fit your individual case.

At what age can a woman claim Social Security benefits?

Generally, you can start collecting retirement benefits as early as 62, though you can claim survivor benefits earlier if you are widowed (see “What are the Social Security benefits for widows?” below). If you begin before your full retirement age (FRA) — 66 or 67, depending on when you were born — your benefits will be reduced for the rest of your life. For each year beyond your FRA that you wait to claim your retirement benefits, Social Security bumps up your payouts by 8% annually, until you reach age 70, the maximum age for boosting benefits.

How does Social Security work if you’re married?

When there are two of you, you have additional flexibility in taking your Social Security benefits:

• You can both claim benefits early.
• You can each wait until age 70.
• One of you — ideally the one with the higher lifetime earnings — can wait until age 70 to maximize benefits while the other starts receiving payments earlier.
   

Being a married couple can also qualify you for spousal benefits. Social Security allows you to claim benefits based on your spouse’s work record, something you might choose to do if you don’t have enough work credits to qualify for Social Security on your own, or if your spousal benefits would be higher than what you’d receive based on your own work record. (Spouses are entitled to up to 50% of their higher-earning partner’s full retirement benefits.³)

While you can’t claim benefits on a spouse’s record if your spouse is still working, you can claim benefits based on your own payment record and switch to spousal benefits later. As a result, the opportunity to maximize your Social Security income expands, particularly in cases when one spouse has much lower benefits.

Sometimes a lower-earning spouse will want to switch from collecting Social Security on their own record to that of their spouse. When that happens, their original benefit reduction due to filing early will be reflected in the new total monthly benefit. If the lower-earning spouse is eligible for both retired worker and spousal benefits, they will generally receive the higher of the two amounts.³

How does Social Security work if you’re divorced?

If you’ve been divorced for at least two years and are unmarried, and your marriage lasted 10 or more years, you may be able to claim a benefit worth up to 50% of your ex’s full Social Security benefit. “For divorced spouses who qualify, the benefit is the same as for married couples,” says Vrdoljak.

To qualify, you must be 62 years of age or older, your ex-spouse must be eligible to begin collecting and the spousal benefit must be greater than what you’d receive based on your own work history.

Even if your ex has remarried or isn’t yet collecting Social Security benefits, you’re still eligible to receive benefits based on their earnings record. Any earnings you get will have no bearing on what your ex or their current spouse is entitled to from Social Security.

What are the Social Security benefits for widows?

If your spouse has died and you were married at least nine months, you may be due between 71.5% and 100% of their benefit, based on the age you start collecting.⁴ While you’re eligible for 100% of your benefit if you wait until FRA, you can claim reduced benefits as early as age 60, or between 50 and 59 if you have a disability.

There are situations in which you can claim benefits even earlier. If you and your deceased spouse have a child under the age of 16 or with a disability, you may be able to claim reduced benefits regardless of your age.

Just make sure you understand the rules when it comes to re-marriage: Remarrying before age 60 (50 if you have a disability) will cause you to lose your benefits.

Your advisor can help you understand how your Social Security income fits into your retirement plan and, in conjunction with your tax professional, decide when it might make the most sense for you to claim your benefits.

Read “Women and Life-Defining Financial Decisions” and “Financial Decisions Near Retirement” for more insights on claiming Social Security benefits.