4 years ago my wife began her retirement benefits at age 62. For the past 4 years I have been receiving a spousal benefit. I recently applied and was approved verbally over the phone for my own retirement benefits to start in December. I read somewhere that when you apply and give the marriage info (which they already have from when she applied) they should automatically inform her of her entitlement and increase her benefit accordingly. Have you ever heard of that being the case or must my wife call Social Security to apply for the excess spousal benefit?

Hi. Listing your spouse on your application can establish a protective filing date for her, but she would still need to file an application in order to claim spousal benefits. If you list a spouse on your application and if that spouse appears to be eligible for benefits then Social Security normally solicits an application from the spouse. If they haven't done that and if you think that your wife should be eligible for an excess spousal benefit, then she should probably call Social Security to initiate filing an application.

Best, Jerry