Key points
- Nearly 90% of Americans age 65 or older receive Social Security benefits.
- Eligibility for Social Security retirement benefits is based on work history.
- There are several reasons you may be unable to claim benefits.
Social Security is a significant source of retirement income for millions of Americans. According to the Social Security Administration, nearly 9 in 10 people age 65 or older received these benefits in June 2023, and their payments represented about 30% of their income.
While most people are eligible for Social Security — officially known as Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance — some may be in for a surprise when they file. Maybe they didn’t work long enough to qualify or have a pension that offsets their expected Social Security payments.
Whether you plan to retire in the next few years or the next few decades, it’s important to understand who is eligible for Social Security and what types of Americans might have to do without this cash during their golden years.
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Who is eligible for Social Security?
Social Security benefits typically come in one of three forms for retirees:
- Retirement benefits.
- Spousal benefits.
- Survivors benefits.
For more information on these types of benefits and whether you are eligible, create an account on the Social Security website.
“They really do a fantastic job of showing what you’re eligible for,” said Jordan Mangaliman, CEO and founder of GoldLine Financial Services.
Retired Social Security beneficiaries generally fall into one of the following categories.
Workers with at least 40 Social Security credits
Payroll taxes fund Social Security. Workers must contribute a sufficient amount to qualify for benefits. The government has determined that those who have earned 40 Social Security credits have worked long enough to be eligible.
“Earning 40 credits is not that difficult,” said Beth Lynch, a financial advisor with Fort Pitt Capital Group.
You can earn up to four credits per year. In 2024, you get one credit for every $1,730 you earn in income. That means you can earn all four credits if you make $6,920 in wages or self-employment income. The only catch is that you must pay Social Security taxes — either Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes or self-employment taxes — for the income to count toward a credit.
Most people are eligible for Social Security benefits after working for 10 years. It could be longer if you have a period of unemployment.
Spouses of workers eligible for Social Security
You may qualify for Social Security benefits without an adequate work history if you are married to a worker who has 40 credits. Known as spousal benefits, these retirement payments are typically half the amount awarded to the worker.
Divorced spouses can claim these benefits if they were married to a worker for at least 10 years and have not remarried. Spousal benefits do not affect the worker’s benefit amount. Someone who has been married multiple times can have multiple people receiving benefits off their record.
Widows and widowers of workers eligible for Social Security
Spouses of deceased workers are also entitled to benefits in retirement. They are known as survivors benefits rather than spousal benefits.
A widow or widower may receive as much as their spouse’s full benefit amount. Payments can begin as early as age 60 in most cases. If the surviving spouse is disabled, they may be able to start survivors benefits for retirement at age 50. Benefits are available to those who haven’t remarried before age 60, or 50 if disabled.
A divorced spouse can also receive survivors benefits if they were married to the worker for at least 10 years. Remarriage after age 60, or 50 if disabled, will not impact eligibility for survivors benefits.
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Who isn’t eligible to receive Social Security?
While eligibility for Social Security may seem straightforward, there are many nooks and crannies.
In some cases, even people with long work histories may find they aren’t eligible for retirement benefits. The following are some types of Americans not eligible to get Social Security.
People who haven’t worked for 10 years
Not working long enough is the most obvious reason someone wouldn’t be eligible for Social Security retirement benefits. You must have a work history of at least 10 years to earn the credits you need to be eligible for Social Security as a retiree.
Someone with a long period of unemployment may be ineligible for this reason. Immigrants who come to the U.S. late in life may also find earning the necessary number of credits difficult, experts say.
Workers who don’t pay Social Security taxes
It’s possible that someone worked for 10 years but isn’t eligible for Social Security because they didn’t pay taxes into the system.
For instance, federal law allows state and local governments to exclude employees from Social Security coverage if they provide plans with comparable benefits. According to the Social Security Administration, about a quarter of state and local government employees are not covered by Social Security.
Self-employed individuals may also find themselves without Social Security benefits if they try to evade income taxes. Failing to report income on tax forms means self-employment taxes aren’t paid and there is no record of earnings for Social Security credits. Underreported income could also mean smaller Social Security checks in the future.
Government workers with pensions
As mentioned, certain employees don’t pay into the Social Security system and therefore don’t earn Social Security credits. But some of those workers may have second jobs where they do pay Social Security taxes.
Despite paying into the system, they could see their Social Security benefits reduced or eliminated thanks to the Windfall Elimination Provision. The law uses a formula to reduce Social Security payments for workers with pensions from work not covered by Social Security.
About 3% of Social Security beneficiaries were subject to the Windfall Elimination Provision in 2020, according to the Social Security Administration.
Some retirees living outside the country
Retiring abroad is a dream for many people. Assuming you are a U.S. citizen, you can continue receiving your Social Security benefits unless you live in a country with Social Security payment restrictions. Typically, recipients can’t receive Social Security if they live in one of the following countries:
- Azerbaijan.
- Belarus.
- Cuba.
- Kazakhstan.
- Kyrgyzstan.
- North Korea.
- Tajikistan.
- Turkmenistan.
- Uzbekistan.
You won’t lose your payments entirely, though. They will be withheld until you move somewhere without government restrictions on payments.
If you are a noncitizen, the issue is more complex. You may be able to continue receiving Social Security benefits indefinitely based on your U.S. work record, or they may be cut off once you have been outside the country for six full calendar months.
The Social Security Administration offers a screening tool to help you determine if you are eligible for international payments.
Anyone incarcerated for more than 30 days
Prisoners are another group that is not eligible for Social Security payments. Once someone is convicted of a crime and incarcerated for more than 30 days, their benefits are suspended. But any spousal or dependent benefits being paid out to family members will continue.
When a person is released, their payments can be reinstated. They won’t receive the benefits that were withheld while they were incarcerated, however.
Individuals who die before age 62
Some Americans will not be eligible for Social Security retirement benefits because they do not live long enough to claim them.
The earliest a worker can claim retirement benefits is age 62. A person who dies before then won’t benefit directly from their payments into the Social Security system. But if they have a spouse or minor children, those individuals can claim survivors benefits off their work record.
How do you know if you’re eligible for Social Security?
The easiest way to determine whether you are eligible for Social Security is to create an account on the Social Security Administration website.
After you create an account, you can log in to see how many credits you have earned, your estimated monthly payments for retirement or disability benefits, and how much your survivors would be entitled to receive if you died.
“We tell a lot of our clients to go on and check their earnings record,” Lynch said.
Your Social Security payments are based on your earnings, so ensuring the government has a proper record of your income is important. If the information in your account is inaccurate, contact the Social Security Administration to request a correction.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Not all U.S. citizens pay Social Security taxes. Some workers have what are known as noncovered jobs. These jobs are typically held by government workers, including teachers, police officers and firefighters in some states. Instead of receiving Social Security benefits in retirement, these employees have defined benefit pensions.
According to the Social Security Administration, roughly 6% of workers in paid employment and self-employment are not covered under Social Security.
Homemakers can receive Social Security benefits if they are married to someone eligible for Social Security benefits. In that case, they can receive spousal benefits, which are usually equal to half their working spouse’s benefit amount.
The average monthly Social Security benefit for retired workers was $1,837 in June 2023.
