If you stop work before you start receiving benefits and you have less than 35 years of earnings, your benefit amount is affected. We use a zero for each year without earnings when we calculate the amount of retirement benefits you are due. Years with no earnings reduce your retirement benefit amount.
After you have put in a full 35 years of earning some kind of income, the zeroes no longer make a difference because they aren't factored into your benefit calculation.
If you haven't worked and paid Social Security taxes for 10 years or more, we'll still see if you're eligible for a monthly benefit based on a current or former spouse's work. The requirements vary based on whether you're married, divorced, or widowed.
If you have no record of paying into the system, you will not receive payouts. If you have not reported income and evaded taxes for a lifetime, then you will receive no Social Security benefits.
If you do not have 35 years of earnings by the time you apply for benefits, your benefit amount will be lower than it would be if you worked 35 years. Years with no earnings count as zeroes in the benefit calculation.
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.
Spousal Benefits for Retired Workers
A spouse who has never worked in paid jobs or has not worked to earn sufficient credits to be eligible for his/her own retired worker benefits can receive a spousal benefit that is 50 percent of the eligible worker's full 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.
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.
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.
We cannot pay benefits if you don't have enough credits. In 2025, you receive 1 credit for each $1,810 of earnings, up to the maximum of 4 credits per year. Each year the amount of earnings needed for credits goes up slightly as average earnings levels increase.
By waiting until age 70 to start receiving benefits, you've maximized the monthly payment amount. Your benefit amount increases every month you delay until you reach 70 years old.
Exactly how much in earnings do you need to get a $3,000 benefit? Well, you just need to have averaged about 70% of the taxable maximum. In our example case, that means that your earnings in 1983 were about $22,000 and increased every year to where they ended at about $100,000 at age 62.
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.
The Bottom Line. A number of situations could put your pension at risk, including underfunding, mismanagement, bankruptcy, and legal exemptions. Laws exist to protect you in such circumstances, but some laws provide better protection than others.
The spousal benefit can be as much as half of the worker's "primary insurance amount," depending on the spouse's age at retirement. If the spouse begins receiving benefits before "normal (or full) retirement age," the spouse will receive a reduced benefit.
you're eligible for some of your ex's Social Security
wives and widows. That means most divorced women collect their own Social Security while the ex is alive, but can apply for higher widow's rates when he dies.
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).
If you've reached your full retirement age, you can receive 100% of your spouse's disability benefits. If you're between 50 and 59 and you also have a disability, you can receive 71.5% percent of your spouse's benefits.
But even if you never worked and therefore don't have an earnings record, you're not necessarily out of luck. If you're married (or were married) to someone who's entitled to Social Security, you can collect spousal benefits equal to 50% of your husband or wife's benefits at full retirement age.
This is good news when former spouses are not on good terms. Your ex cannot “block” you from drawing your spousal benefit. In fact, he probably won't even know if you are drawing off him unless he calls SSA to ask.