Social Security pays nearly 50 million American retirees their retirement benefits every month in the United States. These payments are mainly to support other sources of income seniors might have. However, there are many people who have not saved or invested enough. Thus, this could be a real challenge then.
When people get close to 60, they start to think about retirement benefits from Social Security. Nevertheless, it would be much better to plan your retirement savings and budget as early as possible. If you are focused on having a big nest egg from the age of 20, your financial situation would be more stable at 67.
Bear in mind that to collect Social Security retirement checks you must work and pay taxes. If you do not pay any taxes to SSA for the work you do, you have no right to collect these checks. That is why it is so important to pay taxes. Otherwise, you are not earning the credits that are necessary for these payments.
Can I get a Social Security retirement benefit for my 20 years of work?
According to Social Security, to qualify for benefits in retirement you just need ten years of work. Ten years of work are a total of 40 credits. This amount of credits is for any person whose birthday was in 1929 or later. So, for the most part of the population indeed. Credits cannot be bought, you must work and pay taxes.
Of course, the number of credits may be different if you are not collecting retirement checks. Your age will also be important to be eligible for Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance. So, you can collect retirement checks if you have just worked for 20 years, which is better than ten years.
How many credits can I earn per year?
Remember that you can only earn four credits per year. That is the maximum amount and you can earn less if you do not earn enough money. For instance, you can get one credit in 2023 for each 1,640 dollars of your earnings. Social Security updates this amount to keep up the pace with inflation, so it continues changing.
In order to collect the biggest retirement check possible you must work for at least 35 years. If you work less time than that, your Social Security check will go down. SSA will take into account the top 35 years of your work history. That is why it is important to work for that time and have the highest salary possible.
Make sure you pay taxes to Social Security in order to be eligible for benefits. Apart from getting a check in retirement, you are making sure your family gets survivor’s benefits in the event of passing away. Not having enough credit will mean you and your family will not be able to claim Social Security benefits.