Social Security's special minimum benefit pays at least $49.40 per month in 2023 and $50.90 in 2024. Social Security's special minimum benefit tops out at $1,033.50 per month in 2023 and $1,066.50 in 2024. You'll receive 100% of the benefit if you file at full retirement age or later.
Although you need at least 10 years of work (40 credits) to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits, we base the amount of your benefit on your highest 35 years of earnings.
Nothing. If a person has never worked, they have never paid into Social Security and will not be eligible to receive Social Security on their own.
For most wage earners, there is no coverage threshold; that is, every dollar of wages is covered and taxable. Federal law requires specific coverage thresholds for self-employed workers, farm workers, domestic employees, and election workers.
So, if you've only worked 20 years, which is 10 more than the minimum required to collect Social Security, the Social Security Administration will add your salaries from those 20 years and then divide by 35.
If you stop working before you have enough credits to qualify for benefits, your credits will stay on your record. If you return to work later on, you can add more credits so you can qualify. Social Security can't pay benefits if you don't have enough credits.
A wife with no work record or low benefit entitlement on her own work record is eligible for between one-third and one-half of her spouse's Social Security benefit.
Have you heard about the Social Security $16,728 yearly bonus? There's really no “bonus” that retirees can collect. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a specific formula based on your lifetime earnings to determine your benefit amount.
You can start receiving your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62. However, you are entitled to full benefits only when you reach your full retirement age. If you delay taking your benefits from your full retirement age up to age 70, your benefit amount will increase.
If your spouse dies, do you get both Social Security benefits? You cannot claim your deceased spouse's benefits in addition to your own retirement benefits. Social Security only will pay one—survivor or retirement. If you qualify for both survivor and retirement benefits, you will receive whichever amount is higher.
Social Security's 2025 cost of living adjustment is the smallest since 2021. Seniors will get a 2.5% increase in their Social Security checks in 2025 due to cooling inflation, or about $50 per check.
Just because you don't bring home a paycheck doesn't mean you're not working. A stay-at-home parent can get a Social Security check just like any other worker.
If people born after 1960 claim their benefits the month they turn 62, they'll get only 70% of what they would have received had they waited until the full retirement age of 67. The average monthly payment of $1,784 drops by 30% during the first month of eligibility to $1,247.40.
The Social Security 5-year rule refers specifically to disability benefits. It requires that you must have worked five out of the last ten years immediately before your disability onset to qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
Each survivor benefit can be up to 100% of your benefit. The amount may be reduced if the women start benefits before their own full retirement age, but they don't have to share — the amount isn't reduced because you've had more than one spouse.
Generally, the maximum Federal SSI benefit amount changes yearly. SSI benefits increased in 2024 because there was an increase in the Consumer Price Index from the third quarter of 2022 to the third quarter of 2023. Effective January 1, 2024 the Federal benefit rate is $943 for an individual and $1,415 for a couple.
Although many of the programs base benefit amounts and eligibility to work history, there are some instances where a person who has never worked can collect benefits. One program that provides benefits to people, not based on their work history, is Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Spouses and ex-spouses
Payments start at 71.5% of your spouse's benefit and increase the longer you wait to apply. For example, you might get: Over 75% at age 61.
To determine the amount of SSI benefits a couple is eligible to receive, their combined countable income is deducted from the FBR for a couple. The result is then divided equally and paid to the couple in separate checks.
Some government and railroad employees are not eligible for Social Security. American expatriates retiring in certain countries—and some retired immigrants to the U.S.—can't collect Social Security benefits. Divorced spouses married for fewer than 10 years cannot claim benefits based on the earnings of their ex-spouse.
Social Security credits are based on your total yearly wages or self-employment income. You can earn up to 4 credits each year. In 2024, you earn one credit for each $1,640 of earnings, up to the maximum of 4 credits per year.