If we look at the mandatory conditions to be able to get a monthly Social Security retirement check in the United States, we can see that it is necessary to work for several years. This is true for most cases, but there are ways to get a monthly check without the need to have worked.
All situations are completely individual, so we have to look at it from one’s own perspective. If we take this into account, we may find that it is possible to collect Social Security without having worked for a minimum number of years.
However, in that case, the final check we get each month will not depend on us. But it is true that in these cases receiving a Social Security payment will be better than receiving nothing at all, so Americans who are eligible for this type of benefit can make do with the check they get.
Getting Social Security without working
There are three main ways to get a Social Security check without working the minimum number of years. This minimum number of years is 10 years worked and 40 work credits. If we manage to work that long we will be able to start collecting check for retirement, even if it is not very big.
But there are other cases in which it is not necessary to have worked to get a retirement benefit. Those cases are:
- Widowhood.
- Spouse.
- Ex-spouse.
In these three cases, the person who applies for the benefit as a widow, spouse or ex-spouse obtains a benefit that depends directly on the payment that his or her partner has obtained. The usual practice in these cases is to get 50% of the benefit that the other person gets.
Only in this way is it possible to obtain a Social Security benefit without having worked. Although the negative part, as we have commented, is that we will not get a check that is too big, but we will have to settle for the check we get through our spouse’s conditions.
Also, it is not mandatory to apply for this type of Social Security if we are in this situation. If we have worked and we are a spouse, widow or ex-spouse we can choose between our own retirement benefit or the benefit we get for our partner.