Social Security

Wall Street Journal - Bewildering Benefits

Our cover article in the November issue of Encore, "The Baby Boomer's Guide to Social Security," generated hundreds of emails and questions from readers. The bulk of those questions involved "spousal benefits," an important -- and bewildering -- subject for many people approaching retirement.

In a nutshell: When you begin receiving Social Security, your wife or husband may also qualify to receive a check based on your earnings. That's a spousal benefit. Confusion arises when couples discover that a slew of variables -- including "full retirement ages" and earnings records -- affect the benefit's size and availability.