How many years of work to qualify for social security?

Social Security is an important part of most people's retirement plans, and it provides valuable social protection to workers who retire, become disabled or families whose breadwinner dies. To qualify for Social Security benefits, individuals are required to have worked for a minimum number of years and earned enough credits.

You will need 10 years of work to earn the minimum number of work credits required to qualify for retirement benefits. Generally, you need 40 work credits to qualify for Social Security benefits, and you can earn a maximum of four credits per year. For 2023, you must earn at least $6,560 for the year to earn the four credits.

What are work credits?

Work credits are the credits used by Social Security to determine eligibility for Social Security benefits. You can earn credits when you earn wages and pay FICA taxes; the credits are based on your total wages, including self-employment income, for the year.

Generally, earnings required to earn one work credit vary each year. In 2023, you can earn 1 work credit for every $1,640 in earnings, and the maximum number of credits you can earn in one year is 4 credits. This means you must earn $6,560 to get the full 4 work credits in a year.

Typically, you may earn more work credits than the minimum credits required to qualify for benefits. However, the additional credits do not increase your benefits.

How are work credits earned?

Work credits are earned based on your total wages and self-employment income for the year. Typically, you can earn up to four credits per year, either by working all year, several months, or even a month as long as you attain the earnings threshold for the year. The amount of earnings needed to earn 1 credit changes each year as the average wages increase.

For 2023, you need to earn $1,640 in covered earnings to earn one credit, up from $1,510 in 2022. To earn the four work credits in 2023, you must earn $6,560, up from $6,040. The credits earned over your working years remain in your Social Security account. If you have earned more than 40 credits, the additional credits will have no impact on your benefits or eligibility.

How many years of work to qualify for retirement benefits

You need 40 work credits equivalent to at least 10 years of work to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits. However, if you have breaks in your career, it can take more than 10 years to earn enough credits to qualify for benefits. You can earn up to 4 work credits each year if you meet the earnings threshold.

While you need 10 years of work to qualify for Social Security, Social Security considers your highest 35 years of earnings when calculating your benefits. If you have less than 35 years of earnings, your monthly benefits will be lower since Social Security uses zeros for the years with no earnings.

How many years of work to qualify for disability benefits

The number of years you need to qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) depends on the age when you became disabled. Typically, you must meet the recent work test and duration work test.

Recent work test

You must have worked in a covered job in the period leading to your disability. The work credits required to meet the recent work test depend on your age.

If you are below age 24, you may qualify for SSDI if you have earned 6 credits in the prior three years. 6 credits are equivalent to 1 year and a half of work.

Between ages 24 to 31, you may qualify for SSDI if you spent at least half the time since age 21 in covered work. For example, if you became disabled at age 27, you would need to have worked for 3 years i.e. 12 credits out of the past 6 years since turning 21.

If you are 31 or older, you may qualify for SSDI if you have at least 20 work credits in the 10 years leading to your disability.

Duration work test

Apart from meeting the recent work test, you must have earned a certain number of credits over your working years to qualify for SSDI. For the duration work test, the credits do not have to fall within a certain period, but over your whole working life.

If you are below age 28, you would need 6 credits equivalent to 1.5 years of work. At age 30, you would need 8 credits equivalent to 2 years of work. Generally, the duration work test follows a specific formula.  

How many credits to qualify for survivor benefits

The number of credits needed to provide benefits to surviving dependents depends on the worker’s age at the time of death. Generally, the younger you are, the fewer credits you must have for your survivors to take survivor benefits. You won’t need 40 credits for survivor benefits.

Your surviving dependents can receive survivor benefits on your record if you have earned 6 credits equivalent to 1 ½ years of work in the 3 years before your death. If you were receiving retirement or disability benefits at the time of death, your survivors will receive similar benefits.