What Is Social Security?

The Social Security program was established in 1935 to provide retirement income for certain U.S. workers. It was later expanded to cover most of the workforce. Today, it remains America’s pension plan and the financial lifeline that many people use to stay afloat in their old age.

Social Security provides 37% of elderly men and 42% of elderly women with at least 50% of their income. For 12% of elderly men and 15% of elderly women, it’s at least 90% of their income. There are specific rules for filing or updating your Social Security.

How does Social Security work? Regardless of your age, you really should know. Here are the answers to 10 questions that people most often ask.

1. When Am I Eligible?

Depending on when you were born, you will be eligible for full retirement benefits as early as age 65 or as late as age 67.

• If you were born before 1938, your full retirement age is 65.
• If you were born from 1938 to 1942, the age ranges from 65 and two months to 65 and 10 months.
• If you were born from 1943 to 1954, it’s 66.
• If you were born from 1955 to 1959, it ranges from 66 and two months to 66 and 10 months.
• If you were born in 1960 or later, it’s 67.

You can opt to receive Social Security as early as age 62, but if you do, then your monthly benefits will be permanently reduced. For example, if you take benefits at 62 and your full retirement age is 66, then your benefits will be reduced by 25%.

If you postpone taking benefits past your full retirement age, then you will be rewarded with a higher benefit: 8% for each year up to age 70 (for those born in 1943 or later), when benefits max out and there is no further incentive to delay signing up.

2. How Is Eligibility Determined?

Your eligibility for Social Security is based on the credits that you earn during your working years. As of 2021, for every $1,470 you make, you earn one credit, up to a maximum of four per year. If you were born in 1929 or later, then you need 40 credits—essentially, 10 years of full-time work—to receive Social Security benefits at retirement.

3. How Much Do I Pay In?

As of 2021, workers pay 6.2% of their wages into Social Security on up to $142,800 of their income. Employers contribute another 6.2%. Self-employed people have to pay both portions or 12.4%.

4. How Much Will I Get?

Your Social Security benefits are based on your lifetime earnings. The formula is a little complicated, but it averages the income from your 35 highest-earning years. If you have already accumulated 40 Social Security credits, then you can use the online Social Security Retirement Estimator to get a rough idea of what you will get.

5. Can I Get Social Security if I Work?

Yes, you can receive Social Security benefits while you are still working. If you’ve reached full retirement age, you can work and earn as much as you’d like and receive full benefits. If you’re under full retirement age, your benefits will be reduced temporarily. The money is not lost, however. Social Security will credit it to your record when you reach full retirement age, resulting in a higher benefit.

The reduction is $1 for every $2 of earned income over $18,960 in 2021 for those younger than full retirement age. During the year when you reach full retirement age, your benefits will be reduced by $1 for every $3 in income over $50,520 in 2021. That continues until the month when you become fully eligible.

6. How Does the Spousal Benefit Work?

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 tightened some of the rules on spousal benefits, eliminating several strategies that couples once used to maximize how much they received. However, spouses can still claim benefits regardless of whether they ever held paid jobs, based on their partner’s record. To qualify, the spouse with a work record must already be receiving retirement or disability benefits, and the non-working spouse must be at least age 62.

As with other Social Security benefits, spousal benefits are permanently reduced if the nonworking spouse starts to collect before reaching full retirement age. If the non-working spouse waits until full retirement age, then they will receive a spousal benefit of up to 50% of their partner’s full retirement benefit.

Spouses who are widowed become eligible for 100% of their partner’s full benefit unless they also had a job and the benefit that they’ve earned through their income is higher. Generally, the widowed spouse must be at least 60 years of age (with certain exceptions) to receive benefits from the deceased spouse’s record, and the amount will be reduced if the surviving spouse elects to receive benefits before their full retirement age.

In addition, should the surviving spouse remarry before age 60, they will forfeit the deceased spouse’s benefit. In some cases, divorced spouses are also eligible for spousal benefits based on their former partner’s record.

7. Do I Owe Taxes on Social Security?

You might, depending on your income. Couples who file a joint tax return and have a combined income from $32,000 to $44,000 will have to pay income tax on up to 50% of their benefits. If their combined income is more than $44,000, then they’ll be taxed on up to 85% of their benefits. “Combined income” is defined as adjusted gross income plus any nontaxable interest and half of your Social Security benefits. For singles, those income thresholds are $25,000 to $34,000 for 50% and more than $34,000 for 85%.

8. How Do I Apply for Benefits?

You can apply at a local Social Security office, by phone (1-800-772-1213), or online. You’ll need to provide certain information and possibly some documents, such as a birth certificate. Social Security Form SSA-1 has a complete list.

9. How Does Social Security Work?

Social Security is a “pay-as-you-go” system. Money paid in by current workers is used to pay the benefits for current retirees. Any money that remains goes into the Social Security Trust Fund, to be used in future years when current contributions won’t be sufficient to cover all of the program’s obligations.

There are two trust funds: the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund, which pays retirement benefits, and the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund. By law, the money in the trust funds is invested in U.S. government securities.

10. Is Social Security in Trouble?

It’s safe to say that the Social Security system faces some financial challenges. The ratio of current workers-to-retirees is declining, meaning fewer workers are paying into the system for every retiree who is drawing money out of it. In addition, people are living longer than when the program was envisioned in the 1930s, so they’re collecting benefits for more years.

According to Social Security Administration trustees, the retirement program’s costs are expected to exceed its income for the first time in 2021. Under current projections, the program should be able to pay full benefits until 2033, when the trust fund will be depleted. After this, the fund’s reserves will be depleted and 76% of scheduled benefits will be able to be paid with continuing tax income.

Given the program’s popularity and importance to millions of Americans—and the millions of older Americans who have already paid into it for decades—it’s extremely unlikely that Congress would simply let it fail.