For women in particular, it's a good thing to remember. It doesn't affect your spouse's payment at all. In fact, they will never know when you start receiving your Social Security checks. But you need to have their Social Security number in hand.
If your standard of living is going to drop, you've got to pay real close attention to things like your credit rating and staying ahead of unsecured debt such as credit cards. That will be worth its weight in gold down the road.