US Social Security
Benefits and Disability

Social Security Benefits

You can start your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62 or as late as age 70. Your monthly benefit amount will be different depending on the age you start receiving it. If you choose to:

       * start your benefits early, they will be permanently
         reduced based on the number of months you
         receive benefits before you reach  your full
         retirement age. The reduction in your benefit
         amount will also depend on the year you were
         born.

The maximum reduction at age 62 will be
          - 25 percent for people who reach age 62 in 2009.
          - 30 percent for people born after 1959.

You could see a change in your benefit amount if you work after you start receiving benefits.

Some of your benefits may be withheld if you have excess earnings. However, after you reach full retirement age, they will recalculate your benefit amount to give you credit for any months in which you did not receive some benefit because of your earnings.

     * wait until full retirement age, your benefits will not
        be reduced.
     * delay benefits until after full retirement age, your
        benefit will be permanently increased based on the
        number of months you do not receive benefits
        between full retirement age and age 70.

Note: If you are full retirement age, you can apply for retirement benefits and then request to have payments suspended. That way, your spouse can receive a spouse's benefit and you will continue to earn delayed retirement credits until age 70.

There is no additional benefit increase after you reach age 70, even if you continue to delay taking benefits. 

How do you qualify for retirement benefits?

When you work and pay Social Security taxes, you earn “credits” toward Social Security benefits. The number of credits you need to get retirement benefits depends on when you were born. If you were born in 1929 or later, you need 40 credits (10 years of work).

If you stop working before you have enough credits to qualify for benefits, the credits will remain on your Social Security record. If you return to work later on, you can add more credits so that you qualify. No retirement benefits can be paid until you have the required number of credits.

How much will your retirement benefit be?

Your benefit payment is based on how much you earned during your working career. Higher lifetime earnings result in higher benefits. If there were some years when you did not work or had low earnings, your benefit amount may be lower than if you had worked steadily.

Your benefit payment also is affected by the age at which you decide to retire. If you retire at age 62 (the earliest possible retirement age for Social Security), your benefit will be lower than if you wait until later to retire. This is explained in more detail below.

Note: Each year, about three months before your birthday, you receive a Social Security Statement. It can be a valuable tool to help you plan a secure financial future. It provides you with a record of your earnings and gives estimates of what your Social Security benefits would be at different retirement ages. It also gives an estimate of the disability benefits you could receive if you become severely disabled before retirement, as well as estimates of the survivors benefits Social Security would provide your spouse and eligible family members when you die.