When and how to apply for benefits

social security

a big part of the system’s strength has been its flexibility.

Social security is a safety net, designed to provide income for retired and disabled workers and their families. More than 90% of all households that include someone over 65 receive benefits, and about 94% of all working people are part of the system. Participation requires contributing a percentage of earned income from each paycheck, up to an annual dollar cap that Congress sets.

Those who aren’t enrolled include railroad workers as well as some state and local workers, who have their own plans, and some members of the clergy who don’t participate for religious reasons.

Also excluded are people paid off the books, though such arrangements are illegal if the worker earns more than the threshold for the type of work involved. In 2017, for example, that amount is $2,000 for domestic workers, $1,800 for election workers, and $150 for farm workers in most cases.

Those who aren’t employed and so can’t participate may qualify for benefits as the spouse or dependent of someone who does contribute.

GOT YOU COVERED

IT PAYS TO BE ONE OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY CROWD.

You have to qualify for Social Security benefits, but it’s not hard to do. If you work for a total of ten years—even if you do it a few months at a time, and never earn more than the minimum amount—you’ll be entitled to Social Security benefits when you retire. You qualify for Medicare the same way.

People who’ve worked early in their lives and then left the work force, like woman raising families, can return to work after a long break and still accumulate enough credits to qualify for the various programs. Though the dollar amount of a late qualifier’s benefit is usually smaller than someone’s who has worked all along, the security of knowing you have coverage is the same.

Tracking Your Record

Each year the Social Security Administration (SSA) compiles a personal Social Security Statement for each worker 25 and older. It reports what you’ve contributed over your working life and estimates the monthly benefit amounts that you’ll qualify for at retirement or if you’re disabled. You can access that information online by creating a secure, password-protected account at my Social Security (www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount/).

The SSA encourages you to check the form against your own work records to be sure the details are right. If they’re wrong—and sometimes they are—you can submit copies of your W-2 withholding statements and your tax returns to get them corrected. The more quickly you realize there’s a problem, the easier it will be to resolve.