Couples Claiming Optimizer
Search every pair of claiming ages for a married couple, counting spousal benefits, the survivor benefit the higher earner's choice locks in, and both of your life expectancies.
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You
Your spouse
Best expected
69 and 3 mo and 62
Your claim age, then your spouse's
Over both claiming at the earliest
+$50,355
Expected lifetime value, today's dollars
Monthly while both alive
$5,046
Survivor keeps $3,776
The best strategy, benefit by benefit
You, claiming at 69 and 3 mo
- Own benefit
- $3,776
- Spousal top-up
- $0
- As a survivor
- $3,776
- Full retirement age
- 67
- Life expectancy
- 81.0
Your spouse, claiming at 62
- Own benefit
- $770
- Spousal top-up
- $500
- As a survivor
- $3,776
- Full retirement age
- 67
- Life expectancy
- 83.7
Expected lifetime value by claiming age
| You ↓ / Spouse → | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | $712K | $709.9K | $706.5K | $705.5K | $702.7K | $698.4K | $692K | $685K | $677.5K |
| 63 | $714.3K | $712.2K | $708.8K | $707.7K | $705K | $700.7K | $694.3K | $687.2K | $679.7K |
| 64 | $714K | $711.9K | $708.5K | $707.4K | $704.7K | $700.4K | $694K | $686.9K | $679.4K |
| 65 | $725.5K | $723.8K | $720.4K | $719.3K | $716.6K | $712.3K | $705.9K | $698.9K | $691.3K |
| 66 | $736.4K | $734.7K | $732.2K | $731.1K | $728.3K | $724K | $717.6K | $710.6K | $703.1K |
| 67 | $744.5K | $742.9K | $740.3K | $738.7K | $736K | $731.7K | $725.2K | $718.2K | $710.7K |
| 68 | $755.6K | $754K | $751.4K | $749.9K | $747.1K | $742.8K | $736.4K | $729.3K | $721.8K |
| 69 | $762.1K | $760.5K | $757.9K | $756.4K | $753.7K | $749.8K | $743.4K | $736.4K | $728.9K |
| 70 | $761.2K | $759.6K | $757K | $755.5K | $752.8K | $749K | $746.6K | $739.6K | $732.1K |
Whole-year ages. The best strategy above is refined month by month around the darkest cell.
Common rules of thumb
| Strategy | You claim | Spouse claims | Household monthly | Survivor monthly | Expected lifetime value | Short of best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Both at earliest | 62 | 62 | $3,335 | $2,240 to $2,640 | $712,031 | $50,355 |
| Both at full retirement age | 67 | 67 | $4,800 | $3,200 to $3,200 | $731,655 | $30,732 |
| Both at 70 | 70 | 70 | $5,832 | $3,968 to $3,968 | $732,094 | $30,293 |
| Higher earner at 70, other at earliest | 70 | 62 | $5,238 | $3,968 to $3,968 | $761,156 | $1,231 |
Ten best whole-year pairs
| Strategy | You claim | Spouse claims | Household monthly | Survivor monthly | Expected lifetime value | Short of best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 69 and 62 | 69 | 62 | $4,982 | $3,712 to $3,712 | $762,104 | $283 |
| 70 and 62 | 70 | 62 | $5,238 | $3,968 to $3,968 | $761,156 | $1,231 |
| 69 and 63 | 69 | 63 | $5,037 | $3,712 to $3,712 | $760,489 | $1,898 |
| 70 and 63 | 70 | 63 | $5,293 | $3,968 to $3,968 | $759,558 | $2,829 |
| 69 and 64 | 69 | 64 | $5,092 | $3,712 to $3,712 | $757,942 | $4,444 |
| 70 and 64 | 70 | 64 | $5,348 | $3,968 to $3,968 | $757,029 | $5,358 |
| 69 and 65 | 69 | 65 | $5,165 | $3,712 to $3,712 | $756,409 | $5,978 |
| 68 and 62 | 68 | 62 | $4,684 | $3,456 to $3,456 | $755,628 | $6,759 |
| 70 and 65 | 70 | 65 | $5,421 | $3,968 to $3,968 | $755,525 | $6,862 |
| 68 and 63 | 68 | 63 | $4,739 | $3,456 to $3,456 | $753,995 | $8,392 |
1,000 simulated pairs of lifetimes
| Strategy | Unlucky (10th pct.) | Typical | Long lives (90th pct.) | Beats best expected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best expected | $388,732 | $798,579 | $1,079,678 | – |
| Both at earliest | $427,601 | $746,396 | $935,425 | 26% |
| Both at full retirement age | $376,350 | $761,399 | $1,033,348 | 9% |
| Both at 70 | $332,944 | $764,820 | $1,079,908 | 18% |
| Higher earner at 70, other at earliest | $379,727 | $799,569 | $1,088,644 | 43% |
In 42% of simulated marriages at least one of you reaches 90, and the survivor lives alone for 11.8 years on average. That stretch is what the higher earner's claiming age pays for.
How it works›
Spousal benefits. A spouse whose own benefit is under half the other's gets the difference once both have filed, reduced 25/36 of 1% a month before their full retirement age and 5/12 of 1% beyond 36 months. Spousal benefits earn no delayed credits.
Survivor benefits. A survivor keeps the larger of their own benefit and the deceased's, including any delayed credits. If the deceased claimed early, the survivor gets no more than the larger of that reduced benefit and 82.5% of the deceased's full benefit. The model starts the survivor benefit at survivor full retirement age, or at once if already past it.
Life expectancy. Each spouse's death is drawn independently from the SSA 2021 period life table, scaled for health. Expected value weights every year of benefits, and every year either spouse might die in, by its probability.
Search. Every whole-year pair from 62 (or today's age) to 70 is valued, then the best pair is refined a month at a time within a year either way.
What it leaves out. Divorced-spouse benefits, child benefits and the family maximum, the government pension offset, the earnings test and taxes on benefits.