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Social Security benefits accumulate over a person’s working life in the form of credits you earn based on the number of hours and years you’ve worked. To qualify for retirement benefits, anyone born in 1929 or later needs 40 credits — or ten years of work — to be eligible, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Starting in 2024, you earn one credit for every $1,730 you earn, with a maximum of four credits per year. This applies whether you are employed or self-employed. Each year, the amount of earnings you need to get credit increases slightly to keep up with inflation and the cost of living increases.
If you’re in a situation where you haven’t worked long enough or at all to qualify for as much Social Security — or any — what can you do to get those retirement benefits? Plus, you don’t lose the credits you’ve already earned, even if you’ve stopped working.
While there is no perfect solution, there are circumstances in which you may still qualify for some Social Security benefits.
Spousal benefits
Social Security is an area where being married or having former married can work to your advantage – literally.
As a way to try to correct for the fact that some married spouses take time off work or don’t work to do things like raise children or support a spouse who works domestically, Social Security takes into account the retirement needs of someone who doesn’t he works – the working husband. When a worker applies for retirement benefits, the worker’s spouse may also be eligible for a Social Security benefit that is based on the working spouse’s earnings.
This amount is usually less, sometimes as much as half, of the worker’s “primary sum insured” and depends on both the spouse’s age and the worker’s age at retirement. To get this benefit, the spouse must be at least 62 years old or be responsible for the care of a qualifying dependent child who is under 16 or receiving Social Security disability benefits.
If the same spouse did not earn 40 credits for full retirement benefits but did earn some, he or she will receive either his or her own benefit or about half of the spouse’s benefit, whichever is greater.
If you didn’t win any credits and therefore not entitled to pension benefits under your own employment case, you may qualify for 50% of your spouse’s primary sum insured.
Survivor benefits for spouses
In the sad situation where a married person loses a spouse to death, the surviving spouse may be eligible for Social Security through survivor benefits. The deceased spouse must have worked for 10 years – earning those 40 credits – ideally, although there might be an exception for survivors if their deceased spouse worked for a year and a half in the three years before their death.
If your spouse earned all 40 credits before death, you may be entitled to their full benefits at full retirement age or reduced benefits as soon as you turn 60.
If you are a surviving spouse of any age but are also the carer or parent of the deceased’s child who is under 16 or who has a disability, you can receive full survivor’s benefits before age 60.
Survivor benefits for children, parents and others
Other people who may qualify for survivor benefits may include unmarried children of the deceased who are under 18 – or up to 19 if in full-time school – occasionally step-children and grandchildren and/or dependent parents who are aged for 62 years. or older.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
A final way you can qualify for retirement benefits is if you have or acquire a disability that prevents you from working. This is known as Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
To qualify, you must have little or no income – starting in 2024, the earnings limit is no more than $1,971 per month for an individual, but increases for couples and parents applying on behalf of their children.
The income guidelines for SSI are very strict and include not only earned income, but also other sources of income such as disability benefits, owned assets such as a car or home, unemployment benefits, and pensions.
Adults and children may be eligible for SSI if they have no more than $2,000 in assets for individuals or $3,000 for couples. For parents applying for their child, those numbers rise to $4,000 and $5,000.
For those age 64 or younger who can prove they earned less than $1,550 in the month they claim, their disability must meet certain criteria, such as:
- Affect your ability to work for a year or more
- It will lead to death
- It severely limits daily activity for children with disabilities.
Until age 65, you must not have a disability to qualify for SSI.
While none of these circumstances are ideal, it’s good to know that there are still some possible ways to earn Social Security benefits if you haven’t been able to work as well as you’d hoped.
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