Question:
What can Social Security do to help me plan for my retirement?
Answer:
Social Security has some great online financial planning tools you can use to make an informed decision about your retirement. Social Security’s online Retirement Planner and our online Retirement Estimator are both tools you can access at any time. These will let you compute estimates of your future Social Security retirement benefits. They also provide important information on factors affecting retirement benefits, such as military service, household earnings, and federal employment.
You can access our Retirement Planner at www.socialsecurity.gov/retire2. And, you can use the Retirement Estimator at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator.
Question:
How do I earn Social Security credits, and how many do I need to qualify for benefits?
Answer:
We use your total yearly earnings to figure your Social Security credits. The amount needed for a credit in 2015 is $1,220. You can earn a maximum of four credits for any year. The amount needed to earn one credit increases automatically each year when average wages increase.
You must earn a certain number of credits to qualify for Social Security benefits. The number of credits you need depends on your age when you apply and the type of benefit application. No one needs more than 40 credits for any Social Security benefit.
(For more information, visit our website at www.socialsecurity.gov.)
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