Most American’s spend their entire adult lives working hard at our jobs. Our reward at the end of our long careers is the right to collect Social Security retirement benefits. These benefits are meant to provide income for people after they stop working so they have a means to pay their bills. To be eligible for retirement benefits, you only need to have worked enough quarters at a job that requires you to pay into the Social Security system. The amount of your monthly retirement benefit depends on the amount you have paid into the system throughout your working years. Here is some important information about how your Social Security benefit is determined.
Qualifying for Benefits
To qualify for Social Security retirement benefits you must have earned at least 40
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The Social Security Administration (SSA) looks at the average amount of money you made in your 35 highest-earning work years before you turned 62. Other factors the SSA takes into consideration include the age at which you start taking your benefits and the different types of earnings you may have, such as a pension.
Factors That do not Affect Your Benefit Amount
The number of years you work and pay into the Social Security system does not necessarily affect your benefit amount since the SSA only looks at the 35 years in which you made the most money. Similarly, adjusting the amount of hours you work or accepting less pay as you near the end of your career will not negatively affect your benefit amount.
Calculating Your Social Security Amount
You can estimate the amount of your monthly retirement benefit by following these five steps:
Determine your total earnings. The SSA looks at the 35 years in which you made the most money, up to a maximum of $127,200 annually. Keep in mind that any years that you did not work count as zero