MJP –
You won’t be lonely if you intend to use Social Security as a supplement to your retirement income: The United States is home to 77.2 million beneficiaries, both present and future. But a monthly Social Security payment in retirement isn’t something everyone can rely on.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) reports that out of all Americans aged 60 and up, around 3.3% never get a Social Security retirement pension; there are 2.6 million people who fall into this category. Should you be concerned that you will never benefit?
You need to have worked and paid into the Social Security system for a minimum of ten years, or 40 credits, before you may collect benefits. One credit in 2024 will require earnings of $1,730, and you can earn a maximum of four credits in a year. Your benefit is calculated using your greatest 35 years of earnings; any years when you did not work will be deducted from your total.
Becoming a never-beneficiary is a mystery
A never beneficiary status may be yours if you fail to accumulate sufficient credits while employed. Accumulating those credits can be challenging for immigrants who arrived late or for those who work infrequently (such as those who took time off to have children).
The Social Security Administration reports that among immigrants aged 65 and up, over half (49%) never receive benefits because they do not have the necessary credits to be eligible. Incidentally, 38.9% of the workforce is low-volume.
Another group that will never receive benefits is those whose jobs aren’t covered by Social Security; this group accounts for 10.8% of the population. This isn’t as terrible as it sounds; it primarily affects workers at the state and local levels of government. While these workers won’t collect Social Security when they retire, their employers may provide them with a pension instead. This also applies to railroad employees who, although not eligible for Social Security, do have access to Railroad Retirement Board payments (after ten years of service).
Only 1.3% of those who are eligible for assistance actually receive them. You won’t be able to collect your entire Social Security payment until you reach full retirement age, which is between 66 and 67 years old depending on your birth year; you can’t begin collecting benefits until you’re 62 years old. Your benefit will not be payable in the event of your death before to the age of 62. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) may be available to patients with terminal illnesses, and survivors’ payments may be payable to spouses and dependent children.
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The benefit will also not be extended to U.S. citizens residing in specific other nations. Azerbaijan, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are some of the nations that do not allow citizens to receive their Social Security benefits while living abroad. However, in most cases, this is not always the case.
To find out if you qualify, you can use the government’s Payments Abroad Screening Tool; however, this does not apply to Cuba and North Korea.
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How can you ensure that your benefit remains intact?
Putting off retiring until you reach a certain income level can be an option if you are short on 40 credits. You could be qualified for additional benefits if you are unable to work due to an illness or disability.
Spousal benefits can be a viable alternative to losing your own Social Security retirement benefits in the event of a divorce, provided that the marriage in question was of a minimum of ten years duration and that neither spouse has remarried. Your ex’s benefits will not be affected by your application for spousal benefits, and you are not required to inform them.
Immigrants from one of 30 countries with a totalization agreement with the U.S. may still be eligible even if they don’t have enough U.S. credits.
Earning six credits in the US is required, however in this scenario, you can basically mix U.S. credits with prorated benefits from your previous nation. You should think about working for a while to obtain those credits if you haven’t already.
What can you do to ensure that you receive Social Security payments even if you are unsure of your eligibility, such as if you are a new immigrant or an infrequent worker? The Social Security Administration (SSA) website has a number of useful tools, such as an eligibility checker and a retirement estimator, that can assist with retirement planning and payment calculation.
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