Last Updated: April 18, 2025 If you don't have enough Social Security credits to get benefits on your own work record or your own benefit is small, you may be able to receive benefits as a spouse. Your spouse must be receiving benefits for you to get benefits on their work record.
Yes. If you pass away, your foreign spouse can claim Social Security survivor benefits.
If you claim your regular Social Security benefit before your higher-earning spouse does, you have the option of switching to spousal benefits at a later date when (or after) your spouse decides to file.
If you don't have enough Social Security credits to get benefits on your own work record or your own benefit is small, you may be able to receive benefits as a spouse. Your spouse must be receiving benefits for you to get benefits on their work record.
This Social Security Spousal Rule Finally Fizzled Out in 2024 — But These 3 Strategies Remain. A Social Security spousal rule that was around for decades ended this year for the last eligible retirees — those who turned 70 on Jan. 1, 2024.
You can't collect spousal benefits unless your spouse already receives Social Security. If your spouse claims their own benefit, you are dually entitled. This means you apply for both retirement and spousal benefits simultaneously, and you'll get the higher of the two amounts.