After years of paying Social Security taxes, benefits are yours for taking --- if you qualify. Social Security bases availability of benefits on minimum work history and the eligibility of the applicant. Eligibility has different requirements for retirement, disability or survivor benefits. Individuals may qualify as workers or as dependents. Statistics from Social Security show that 54 million people were eligible and received Social Security benefits in March 2011.
Basics
Workers pay Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes. Part of those taxes goes to a Social Security fund for retirees, disabled individuals and survivors of workers. When the worker becomes disabled, dies or reaches retirement age, the worker or survivor files an application for benefits. To receive benefits, the worker must have sufficient work history. The worker or relative must apply for benefits and meet other eligibility requirements.
Retirement Benefits
A retiree must have a minimum work history of 10 years or 40 credits or quarters of work and be at least age 62 to qualify for retirement benefits with Social Security. Benefits increase with more years of work, as Social Security uses 35 years of work history to calculate retirement benefits. Benefits at age 62 are 70 to 75 percent of full retirement age benefits, but benefits at age 70 are 130 percent of full retirement age benefits. A spouse can receive retirement benefits as early as age 62 based on personal work history or the work history of a spouse. Spousal benefits at full retirement age are 50 percent of the worker's benefit and at age 62 are 32.5 to 35 percent of the worker's benefit amount.
Disability Benefits
Disability benefits present the most eligibility challenges for the worker. The worker must have sufficient work history to qualify. The minimum requirement is 10 years or 40 credits of work, applied to workers who are age 60 and over. Young workers may have as little work history as a year and a half in the last three years immediately prior to disability. Social Security applies total and permanent disability standards and requires that the disability last at least 12 months or be terminal. The worker cannot be working and earning more than the substantial gainful activity figure of $1,000 a month in 2011. The state's disability determination service makes the initial ruling on disability of the worker.
Survivor Benefits
When a worker who has paid into Social Security dies, the survivors may be eligible for a monthly benefit. A spouse or child must prove the relationship to the deceased and confirm the death with a death certificate or records from the funeral home. The deceased worker must qualify for Social Security benefits with work history. As with disability benefits, young workers qualify with as few as six credits over three years prior to death. Older workers must have up to 10 years of credits.
A surviving spouse must be unmarried and qualify by age or caring for the deceased's child. A spouse or ex-spouse must be 60, or 50 if disabled, unless caring for a child under age 16. A child can be eligible for Social Security survivor benefits until age 18, or 19 if in high school. A deceased worker's child disabled before age 22 may receive benefits at any age.
Tags: Social Security, work history, retirement benefits, must have, full retirement, worker must, years credits
