Spousal benefits allow a husband or wife to receive up to 50 percent of a spouse’s Social Security benefits. These benefits are available even if one spouse has never worked. For married couples, the following criteria must be met: 1  The individual claiming spousal benefits must be age 62 or older.nlike married couples, divorcees don’t have to wait for former spouses to file for Social Security benefits. As long as they were married 10 years and have been divorced at least two years, they can file for spousal benefits at age 62, regardless of their spouse’s filing status.