The maximum benefit depends on the age you retire. For example, if you retire at full retirement age in 2025, your maximum benefit would be $4,018. However, if you retire at age 62 in 2025, your maximum benefit would be $2,831. If you retire at age 70 in 2025, your maximum benefit would be $5,108. 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. This calculation looks at years of coverage in place of someone's earnings to estimate how much they might receive from Social Security. For 2024, the special minimum benefit starts at $50.90 for someone with 11 years of coverage and goes to $1,066.50 for workers with 30 years of coverage.How much Social Security will I collect at 62?
Will I get Social Security if I only worked 10 years?
What is the minimum monthly payout for Social Security?
The minimum benefit starts at $49.40 per month in 2023 and $50.90 in 2024, requiring at least 11 years of work history. The maximum benefit, for those with 30 years of work, increased from $1,033.50 in 2023 to $1,066.50 in 2024.
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.
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.
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.
Assuming your full retirement age is 67, if you file for those retirement benefits at 62, you'll receive around 70% of your full retirement age benefit amount. If you file for disability and are awarded those benefits, the amount that you would receive would be 100% of your full retirement age benefit, even at 62.
The $1,000 per month rule is designed to help you estimate the amount of savings required to generate a steady monthly income during retirement. According to this rule, for every $240,000 you save, you can withdraw $1,000 per month if you stick to a 5% annual withdrawal rate.
According to the SSA's Office of the Actuary, retired-worker beneficiaries who were 62 years old in December 2023 received an average check of $1,298.26.
According to the Social Security Administration, or SSA, the monthly retirement benefit for Social Security recipients is currently $1,783.55 in 2024 on average.
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.
The ideal monthly retirement income for a couple differs for everyone. It depends on your personal preferences, past accomplishments, and retirement plans. Some valuable perspective can be found in the 2022 US Census Bureau's median income for couples 65 and over: $76,490 annually or about $6,374 monthly.
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 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).
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.
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 amount a person receives in Social Security benefits is not directly affected by their current income or wealth. Therefore, even if someone is a millionaire or billionaire, they can still receive Social Security benefits if they have a qualifying work history.
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.