You currently have fewer than the 40 credits needed to become fully insured for retirement benefits. You can still earn credits and become fully insured if you work. We cannot pay you benefits if you don't have enough credits.
You can get Social Security Disability benefits even if you do not have enough work credits to qualify for SSDI. The SSA offers the SSI program to disabled adults and children who have limited financial resources.
You must earn at least 40 Social Security credits to qualify for Social Security benefits. You earn credits when you work and pay Social Security taxes. The number of credits does not affect the amount of benefits you receive.
The only people who can legally collect benefits without paying into Social Security are family members of workers who have done so. Nonworking spouses, ex-spouses, offspring or parents may be eligible for spousal, survivor or children's benefits based on the qualifying worker's earnings record.
Anyone born in 1929 or later needs 10 years of work (40 credits) to be eligible for retirement benefits.
DEFINITION: The special minimum benefit is a special minimum primary insurance amount ( PIA ) enacted in 1972 to provide adequate benefits to long-term low earners. The first full special minimum PIA in 1973 was $170 per month. Beginning in 1979, its value has increased with price growth and is $886 per month in 2020.
You can't buy Social Security credits, the income-based building blocks of benefit eligibility. You can't borrow them or transfer them from someone else's record. The only way to earn your credits is by working and paying Social Security taxes. In 2022, you earn one credit for each $1,510 in income from “covered” work.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) defines “enough work” as earning 40 Social Security credits. More specifically, in 2022, an individual receives one credit for each $1,510 in income, and they can earn a maximum of four credits per year. So, 40 credits are roughly equal to 10 years of work.
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.
Just because you don't bring home a paycheck doesn't mean you're not working. You can get a Social Security check just like any other worker.
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 reduces your retirement benefit amount.
To qualify for retirement benefits, you need 40 Social Security credits. You earn credits by paying Social Security tax on your income, and you can earn up to four per year. In 2022, $1,510 in earnings equals one credit; you earn four credits after making $6,040 for the year.
Unfortunately, if you've never worked, you will not be eligible to receive SSDI payments. The SSDI program is meant for people who are injured during their work, and the number of payments a person receives is directly related to their work and income history. When a person works, they earn quarters of coverage.
Go to www.ssa.gov/mystatement/ and open an account with Social Security to view your statement.
Those who make $40,000 pay taxes on all of their income into the Social Security system. It takes more than three times that amount to max out your Social Security payroll taxes. The current tax rate is 6.2%, so you can expect to see $2,480 go directly from your paycheck toward Social Security.
While it's true that the last 3 years you work may affect your Social Security benefit amount when you claim, those years alone are not what determine your benefit dollar amount. Rather, your benefit is determined using a formula, which includes the highest earning 35 years of your lifetime working career.
Even if they have never worked under Social Security, your spouse may be eligible for benefits if they are at least 62 years of age and you are receiving retirement or disability benefits.
Social Security Benefits: Retirement, Disability, Dependents, and Survivors (OASDI)
For example, the AARP calculator estimates that a person born on Jan. 1, 1960, who has averaged a $50,000 annual income would get a monthly benefit of $1,338 if they file for Social Security at 62, $1,911 at full retirement age (in this case, 67), or $2,370 at 70.
That adds up to $2,096.48 as a monthly benefit if you retire at full retirement age. Put another way, Social Security will replace about 42% of your past $60,000 salary. That's a lot better than the roughly 26% figure for those making $120,000 per year.
But if you can supplement your retirement income with other savings or sources of income, then $6,000 a month could be a good starting point for a comfortable retirement.
If you claim benefits with fewer than 35 years of earnings, Social Security credits you with no income for each year up to 35. For example, if you worked for 30 years, there will be five zeroes in your benefit calculation.