4. Shortchanging the Surviving Spouse

When a married couple receives two Social Security checks, the household budget naturally adapts to that dual income stream. Upon the death of one spouse, the household experiences a brutal financial shock: the smaller of the two Social Security checks disappears permanently. The surviving spouse is permitted to keep the larger of the two benefits, but they cannot keep both.

“When it comes to Social Security, the most important decision a married couple can make is maximizing the benefit of the higher earner. That higher benefit will absolutely act as the ultimate life insurance policy for the surviving spouse.” — Suze Orman, Personal Finance Expert

Because women generally outlive men and often have lower lifetime earnings due to historical wage gaps and time spent out of the workforce for caregiving, the husband’s decision on when to claim heavily dictates the widow’s standard of living. If the higher-earning husband claims at 62, he locks in a 30 percent reduction not just for his own life, but for the remainder of his widow’s life. Delaying the higher earner’s benefit to age 70 ensures the surviving spouse inherits the absolute maximum possible monthly income.