How many retirement credits do i have

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. 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 , 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.

The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site.

The attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service. Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. The delay would also provide a minimum period of participation in the workforce in order to receive benefits. A government pamphlet gives some guidelines for how eligibility for Social Security initially worked.

As the program evolved over its first several decades, Social Security laws gradually changed the way the program determined eligibility. Newer rules governing Social Security called for workers to get a certain number of what were called "quarters of coverage" in order to determine whether they would meet the qualifying standards to receive certain types of benefits.

The number of quarters of coverage was important in figuring out whether someone would qualify to receive certain types of Social Security benefits. Technically, the term "quarters of coverage" still applies to how workers earn credits.

However, in , the federal government changed the way that it required employers to report the wages of their employees, going from quarterly reporting to annual. Because the Social Security Administration SSA would therefore receive information about worker pay only once each year, switching the way that quarters of coverage were counted was necessary in order to have the system match up with reporting requirements. In addition, inflation had led to rising wages that made the old numbers out of date.

Because the wage amount could be earned at any time of year rather than spread out across quarters, people started to call them credits rather than quarters of coverage.

That increase has gone hand in hand with a rise in wages. That's a small number compared to typical earnings, putting maximum credits for Social Security within reach of even those who earn low wages or who work on a part-time basis.

Not all of your income counts for purposes of determining how many Social Security credits you'll get in a given year. Social Security looks only at "earned income" in its calculations. For most people, that includes wages and salaries. Tips are included in the mix as long as those tips get reported to the IRS. Certain benefits, such as vacation pay and severance pay, also go into the credit calculation. Self-employment income is treated the same way as earned income is, especially since the self-employment tax paid by those who work for themselves includes both the worker and employer shares of the payroll taxes that go to fund Social Security.

One exception to the rules above applies to those who work for certain state and local government entities. Some of these government bodies elect to maintain their own pension plans as alternatives to Social Security. If they do so -- rather than choosing to participate in Social Security voluntarily -- then participants will typically get their retirement benefits solely from the government-run pension rather than through Social Security.

There are special rules governing what happens when someone works a portion of their career at such an employer and another part at a job covered under Social Security, but that typically affects the amount of the benefit checks that they'll receive rather than their initial eligibility to get any benefits from the program at all. Another key thing that's not included in credit calculations is "unearned income," which includes income from interest, dividends, royalties, rental payments, and other sources.

If you receive a gift or a loan, that won't count, either. A good rule to follow is that if you didn't have to pay Social Security payroll tax on it, it probably won't be considered for purposes of generating credits. Now that you know what it takes to earn Social Security credits, the next obvious step is to figure out how many credits you need in order to get benefits.

The rules are different depending on what kind of benefit you're looking to receive. If you don't have enough credits, then the SSA doesn't have to pay you monthly checks. Earning Social Security credits is simple. Each year, the SSA looks at the amount of money you earn from work on which you pay Social Security payroll taxes. You can only earn a maximum of four Social Security credits each year. The number of credits you need to be eligible for Social Security depends on the program and your age.

For retirement benefits, the required number of credits is simple: You have to have earned 40 credits, equivalent to 10 years of work if you earn the maximum number of credits per year. Disability benefits involve complex rules. Having 40 credits is always adequate, but the younger you are, the fewer credits you need.

Those who are younger than 24 need six credits over the three years prior to the disability, while those between 24 and 31 need to have credits for half the period between age 21 and their current age at the time of the disability.

Those who are 31 to 42 need 20 credits, with the number of credits rising by two for every two years older than 42 you are. For survivors benefits payable to your family if you die, the number of credits you need isn't as clear.

The SSA is somewhat cryptic about the exact number of credits you need, merely saying that "the younger you are, the fewer years you need to work. For those that have both a pension and enough Social Security credits, they might be subject to the Windfall Elimination Provision, which is put in place to automatically reduce the amount of Social Security received. Those who work for someone else, have the luxury of having their employers taking the taxes out of every paycheck for them.

Unless the self-employed worker arranges to make quarterly payments, they will have to pay their taxes all at once at the end of the year. Having to deal with this huge bill, many self-employed workers are encouraged to create as many deductions as possible to reduce the load. While beneficial in the short-term, this will have an impact on the amount of Social Security benefits that might be paid upon retirement.

Self-employed individuals have a heavy tax burden to bear because from the standpoint of the IRS they are considered both the employee and employer. If you are only a few credits short and are able to work, the most logical course of action would be to simply work a little more, and pay a little more into the system, until you reach the credit minimum to collect a Social Security check. If this is not possible due to severe disability, or if you simply have too great of a deficit in credits for this to be feasible—you may want to look into Supplemental Security Income.

For those over 65 years of age, blind, or disabled, who do not have enough Social Security credits, Supplemental Security Income is an alternative source of income. The only requirements are that you be a U. The best way to check Social Security credits is to go to the main Social Security website at www. You will have to create a my Social Security account before you can view your records. You can also simply call and inquire by phone , or even arrange an appointment with a branch in person at a local Social Security office.

Social security is a great social safety net that all taxpayers fund, to ensure that they will be taken care of in their retirement.

Many of us find ourselves quite perplexed by the time we reach that fabled finish line, wondering just how we can best make use of our Social Security.

But once you are armed with proper knowledge of how Social Security credits work, the mystery is dispelled. There is one basic requirement for all Social Security recipients—you must acquire 40 Social Security work credits.