Beyond Payday keeps a spouse and an unmarried partner in the same place: the Spouse or partner person on your household. Your plan treats you both as a couple either way. A few Social Security and tax rules only apply to married couples, and the Retirement page leaves those out when you're not married.
How it works
It goes by how you file taxes, which you set in quick setup (opens in a new tab) or the Tax estimate (optional) card on the Income (opens in a new tab) page:
- Single or Head of household: not married. The Retirement page calls the other person Partner.
- Married, filing together, or no filing status saved: married. Nothing changes from how the plan has always worked.
What stays the same for an unmarried couple:
- Both people's income, savings, retirement ages and Social Security from their own work records.
- The plan lasts until the last of you reaches the age you planned until, and spending drops to Spending if one of you passes away after the first death.
- Pension and annuity survivor percentages you enter.
What changes:
- No spousal benefit. A married person can get up to half of their spouse's full benefit. A partner gets only their own.
- No survivor benefit. When a married person dies, the survivor keeps the larger of the two Social Security checks. For a partner, the check of the person who died simply stops.
- Social Security taxes. The plan figures two single returns instead of one joint return.
- Selling your home. The tax-free part of the gain is up to $250,000 for each owner. A home you own together, or with no owner set, gets up to $500,000. A home in one name gets up to $250,000.
The Social Security card says "Spousal and survivor Social Security benefits apply only to married couples" where those amounts are left out. If you file Married, they come back. If you are married but file another way, such as Head of household, keep the filing status that's right for your taxes. The app still leaves these benefits out, but you may qualify. ssa.gov has the rules.
An example with real numbers
Sam and Alex live together. Sam's full benefit is $2,400 a month. Alex's own is $800.
- Married: Alex can get up to $1,200, half of Sam's. If Sam dies first, Alex keeps Sam's $2,400.
- Not married: Alex gets $800. If Sam dies first, Alex still gets $800.
Assumptions and limits
- For Social Security taxes, the household's benefits and other income are split evenly between the two returns. That's exact when you both have the same income and close otherwise.
- The plan uses the survivor percentage you enter for a pension or annuity. Some pensions only offer a survivor option to a spouse, so check what your plan allows.
- A married couple who files Head of household is treated as not married.
- The plan doesn't track beneficiaries or wills. A partner isn't added to your accounts or insurance automatically.
FAQ
Does my partner get spousal or survivor Social Security? No. Social Security pays spousal and survivor benefits only to a spouse, so for an unmarried couple each of you gets only the benefit from your own work record, and it stops when that person dies.
How does Beyond Payday know we're not married? From how you file taxes, set in quick setup or the Income page's Tax estimate. Single or Head of household means not married. Married, or no filing status saved, means married.
Is my partner still part of the plan? Yes. Both incomes, savings, retirement ages and Social Security records count, and the plan lasts until the last of you reaches the age you planned until.
FAQ
Does my partner get spousal or survivor Social Security?
No. Social Security pays spousal and survivor benefits only to a spouse, so for an unmarried couple each of you gets only the benefit from your own work record, and it stops when that person dies.
How does Beyond Payday know we're not married?
From how you file taxes, set in quick setup or the Income page's Tax estimate. Single or Head of household means not married. Married, or no filing status saved, means married.
Is my partner still part of the plan?
Yes. Both incomes, savings, retirement ages and Social Security records count, and the plan lasts until the last of you reaches the age you planned until.