How many social security credits do you need

Find out your estimated Social Security benefits.

Periodically checking your estimated Social Security benefits serves several purposes: It helps you plan for retirement and allows you to check for and correct errors.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) keeps a database of your earnings record and work credits, tracking both through your Social Security number. You can see this information on your Social Security Statement, which is available to everyone age 25 and over. The Social Security Statement also gives you an estimate of the benefits you'll receive at retirement age, which can play an important role in your financial planning.

How to Get a Copy of Your Social Security Statement

The SSA mails out Social Security Statements to follks age 25 and over (who are not already receiving Social Security benefits) before their birthdays during their 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 years. For those age 60 until retirement, the SSA will send out statements every year. You can also go online to get a copy of your statement or view it online. Go to www.ssa.gov/mystatement/ and open an account with Social Security to view your statement. (You can no longer request a printed statement either using Form SSA 7004.)

Check the Social Security Administration's Math

Your statement includes a record of the earnings on which you've paid taxes and an estimate of the benefits you will receive at various retirement ages: 62, 67, and 70. It is always wise for you to check the SSA's numbers. Don't be surprised if you uncover an error. Some government-watchers estimate that the SSA makes mistakes on at least 3% of the total official earnings records it keeps.

When you check your record, make sure that the Social Security number noted on your earnings statement is your own, and make sure the earned income amounts listed on the agency's records mesh with your own records of earnings as listed on your income tax forms or pay stubs.

How to Correct an Error on Your Social Security Statement

If you have evidence of your covered earnings in the year or years for which you think Social Security has made an error, call Social Security's helpline at 800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. This is the line that takes all kinds of Social Security questions, and it is often swamped, so be patient. It is best to call early in the morning or late in the afternoon, late in the week, or late in the month. Have all your documents handy when you speak with a representative.

If you would rather speak with someone in person, call your local Social Security office and make an appointment to see someone there, or drop into the office during regular business hours. If you drop in, be prepared to wait, perhaps as long as an hour or two, before you get to see a representative. Bring with you two copies of your benefits statement and the evidence that supports your claim of higher income. That way, you can leave one copy with the Social Security worker. Write down the name of the person with whom you speak so that you can reach the same person when you follow up.

The process to correct errors is slow. It may take several months to have the changes made in your record. After Social Security confirms that it has corrected your record, request another benefits statement to make sure the correct information made it to your file.

Using Your Benefit Estimates

As your statement will show, your Social Security retirement benefits will vary depending on when you claim them before or after your full retirement age (65-67, depending on the year you were born). The longer you wait to start receiving payments, the higher your benefit amount will be.

However, it's not always better to wait until your full retirement age to claim your Social Security benefits. If you need your Social Security benefits for living expenses, or you have a health condition that makes it unlikely that you will live past age 75 or so, you may be better off collecting your benefits sooner rather than later. You can use a calculator at the Social Security website to see which retirement age makes the most financial sense for you (go to http://ssa.gov/planners/calculators.htm).

For comprehensive practical information about how and when to claim Social Security benefits, see Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions, by Joseph Matthews with Dorothy Matthews Berman (Nolo).

Social Security forms an important part of most people's retirement plans, but the program itself does much more than just that. In a nutshell, Social Security is designed to support disabled and retired workers and their families by providing a guaranteed source of lifetime income for those who meet certain criteria.

Here's a closer look at how the program works, the different types of Social Security benefits available, and what you can expect when you're ready to claim benefits.

How Social Security works

Social Security is a government program that collects taxes from working Americans and distributes these funds to qualifying disabled workers, retirees, and their families to help them remain financially secure.

A worker typically must earn 40 credits to qualify for Social Security, though if they die or are disabled young, they may qualify with fewer credits. A credit in 2022 is defined as $1,470 in earned income, and you may earn up to four credits per year.

You may claim Social Security based on your own work record, if you've earned enough credits, or you may be eligible to claim spousal benefits based on your current or ex-spouse's work record if this amount is larger than what you're entitled to on your own. Dependent children and other family members may also qualify for family benefits in certain circumstances.

When you're ready to apply for Social Security, you must fill out an application online or at your local Social Security Administration office. A government representative will verify the information in your application to determine if you qualify and then you'll begin receiving monthly checks.

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There are three main types of Social Security benefits:

• Retirement benefits
• Disability benefits
• Survivors benefits

Retirement benefits

Social Security retirement benefits are for workers 62 and older who have earned at least 40 credits. The size of your benefit checks depends on your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) over your 35 highest-earning years, and the age at which you begin benefits.

You must wait until your full retirement age (FRA) to claim your standard benefit based on your AIME. Your FRA is 66 if you were born between 1943 and 1954, then it rises by two months every year thereafter until it reaches 67 for those born in 1960 or later.

Be Aware

Claiming benefits before your full retirement age (FRA) reduces your checks.

If you begin claiming at 62, you'll get only 70% of your standard benefit if your FRA is 67 or 75% if your FRA is 66. Every month you delay benefits increases your checks slightly until you reach the maximum benefit at 70. This is 124% of your standard benefit if your FRA is 67 or 132% if your FRA is 66.

Receiving Social Security benefits under your FRA could cause you to lose some of that money back to the government if your income is high enough. The Social Security Earnings Test withholds $1 from your checks for every $2 you earn above $19,560 in 2022 if you will be under your FRA all year. If you'll reach your FRA in 2022, it'll take $1 for every $3 you earn over $51,960 if you reach this amount before your FRA. Once you're past your FRA, the government recalculates your benefit to include the amount it withheld.

Certain family members can claim benefits on your work record if doing so would give them more money than they're eligible for on their own work record.

Eligible family members include:

• Spouses
• Ex-spouses, if the marriage lasted for at least 10 years and they have not remarried
• Children under 18, or up to 19 if still enrolled in high school
• Children of any age who were disabled before 22 -- that is, not earning more than $1,260 per month in 2020, having a medical condition that results in severe functional limitations and that is expected to last 12 months or longer or result in death

Spouses and ex-spouses must be at least 62 in order to claim benefits, and spouses and children must wait for the worker to begin claiming benefits themselves before they can claim family benefits on their record.

Disability benefits

Social Security disability benefits are available to adults 18 or older who are unable to work due to a physical or mental disability that is expected to last at least 12 months or result in death. You may still be eligible even if you haven't earned 40 credits, depending upon your age at the time of your disability. Your benefit is determined by your average lifetime earnings, so individuals who earned more while they were working will receive larger disability checks.

You must provide the government with information about your work history and your medical condition, including relevant supporting documents, when you apply. The Social Security Administration will review your case to decide if you are eligible. If it rules in your favor, you'll receive disability checks for as long as your disability lasts or the rest of your life, depending on the condition. If it rules against you, you may request a reconsideration or appeal to an administrative law judge.

Family members may be able to claim benefits on a disabled worker’s work record if they are:

• A spouse 62 or older or of any age if caring for a disabled worker’s disabled child or child 16 or younger
• Ex-spouses who were married to the disabled worker for at least 10 years and have not remarried if they meet the same criteria as spouses
• Unmarried children up to 18, or 19 if still attending high school
• Children of any age who were disabled before 22

Survivors benefits

Survivors benefits are benefits for the family members of deceased workers who qualified for Social Security.

Did you know?

The amount of the survivors benefit depends on the deceased worker's average income, adjusted for inflation, and their relationship to the deceased.

Surviving spouses who are 60 or older (50 or older if disabled) may claim survivors benefits, as can surviving spouses of any age if they are caring for the deceased worker's child who is under 16 or disabled. The same rules apply for ex-spouses as long as they were married to the deceased worker for at least 10 years and have not remarried.

The deceased worker's children under 18, or up to 19 if still enrolled in high school, are eligible for benefits, as are disabled children of any age if they were disabled before 22. Parents of the deceased worker may also qualify for benefits if the deceased was providing 50% or more of their financial support before they died.

In addition to these benefits, the surviving spouse or children may be eligible for a one-time death benefit of $255.

Related Retirement Topics

Brief history of Social Security

The Social Security program was created by the Social Security Act that President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law in 1935. The first checks went out in 1940. Originally it paid benefits only to workers 65 and older, but in the 1970s the government altered it to allow workers to claim benefits as early as 62. It also instituted annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to help Social Security keep pace with inflation.

The program has worked fairly well so far, but many people fear for the future, when there will be fewer workers to support a greater number of Social Security recipients. The latest Social Security Trustees' Report indicates the program's trust funds would be depleted by 2034, after which it would be able to pay out only about 76% of benefits to retirees and about 92% to disabled workers.

The government has proposed several possible solutions for ensuring the long-term sustainability of the program, but at present no plans have been set. There's no risk of the program disappearing in the next decade or two, but it's possible future benefits may not go as far as they do today. That's why today's workers need to prioritize their personal retirement savings, so they can cover most of their expenses on their own.

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