# Social Security benefits must have the last 35 years? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 5, 2015, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592 "2015-10-05T08:44:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/1 "2015-10-05T08:44:13Z")
I was talking to a neighbor about retirement plans, and he said he didn’t think his wife (who is 57 years of age) would be able to collection social security benefits from the jobs she has had. He said, she worked full-time for 10 years and stopped working at age 32. And added that the Social Security benefit is based on the last 35 years before you claim benefits. I never heard of this before, so I looked it up and found this on [http://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/stopwork.html](http://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/stopwork.html) "If You Stop Work Before Retirement Age If you stop work before you have 35 years of earnings, we use a zero for each year without earnings when we do our calculations to determine the amount of retirement benefits you are due. Even if you have 35 years of earnings, some of those years may be low earnings years. Those low earnings years will be averaged in, creating a lower benefit than if you had continued to work." OK, she stopped working at 32 years of age. So if she applied for Social Security benefits at age 70, earned income years paid into Social Security from age 35 to 70 would be a zero for each year. So does that mean she would get zero benefits paid from those 10 years she worked? Or what if she retired at age 67 (32 + 35 = 67), would those 10 years be part of her 35 years to get benefits paid from those jobs she held? Seems odd that she would have to retire sooner to get benefits, but waiting until age 70 she would get none? If I am understanding this correctly, she would loose the 10 years she worked if she retires past age 68, but if she retires between age 62-67 she would get benefits. Am I incorrect in the interpretation of this? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/2 "2015-10-05T11:17:52Z")
You missed this part > [@](#): > > Your retirement benefit is based on your highest 35 years of earnings and your age when you start receiving benefits. What they do is they take your highest 35 years of earnings , and figure your benefits based on that. It’s based on an average, so 10 years of earning $X and 25 years of no earnings results in a lower benefit than 35 years of earning $X. It’s common for the highest 35 years to be the last 35, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You need at least 40 credits to be eligible for benefits and you can earn up to four credits a year.There is a minimum earning requirement- prior to 1978 there was a earnings requirement per quarter so that you had to work in each quarter to earn four credits but since 1978, earnings are reported once a year so that as soon as your reach the earning threshold , you will have four credits , even if you only work a single month of the year. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/3 "2015-10-05T15:25:56Z")
The neighbor is also forgetting something else important: you can claim Social Security benefits based on a spouse’s (or, in the right circumstances, even a deceased spouse’s or ex-spouse’s) earnings. If memory serves, she’d be able to claim an amount equal to 50% of his benefit. [Benefits for Spouses](http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/quickcalc/spouse.html) Many people don’t realize that there are a large number of options for taking Social Security benefits. My advice would be to find a professional financial planner of some sort to get qualified advice on it, just like you would with any other half-a-million-dollar investment. ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/4 "2015-10-05T16:35:49Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > You missed this part > > What they do is they take your highest 35 years of earnings , and figure your benefits based on that. It’s based on an average, so 10 years of earning $X and 25 years of no earnings results in a lower benefit than 35 years of earning $X. It’s common for the highest 35 years to be the last 35, but it doesn’t have to be that way. > > You need at least 40 credits to be eligible for benefits and you can earn up to four credits a year.There is a minimum earning requirement- prior to 1978 there was a earnings requirement per quarter so that you had to work in each quarter to earn four credits but since 1978, earnings are reported once a year so that as soon as your reach the earning threshold , you will have four credits , even if you only work a single month of the year. I sure did miss that part. Thanks for the clarification! ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/5 "2015-10-05T16:53:53Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > The neighbor is also forgetting something else important: you can claim Social Security benefits based on a spouse’s (or, in the right circumstances, even a deceased spouse’s or ex-spouse’s) earnings. If memory serves, she’d be able to claim an amount equal to 50% of his benefit. [http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/quickcalc/spouse.html](http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/quickcalc/spouse.html) > > Many people don’t realize that there are a large number of options for taking Social Security benefits. My advice would be to find a professional financial planner of some sort to get qualified advice on it, just like you would with any other half-a-million-dollar investment. You have a very good point, as a spouse she can apply for 50% of her husband’s benefit. Come to think of it, that benefit might be higher than her own. If she only worked for 10 years and even though it was full-time, it might not have been a high salary. Thanks for the link, “If a spouse is eligible for a retirement benefit based on his or her own earnings, and if that benefit is higher than the spousal benefit, then we pay the retirement benefit. Otherwise we pay the spousal benefit.” So either way, they should be covered. I’m going to mention this to my neighbor, but have them talk with their accountant about it, because they are operating under an incorrect assumption that she might get zero. It sounds like they never did serious retirement planning with a professional, otherwise this would have been addressed. I like the fact that the spouse’s role and contribution even without paying directly into Social Security is acknowledged and a benefit is paid. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/6 "2015-10-05T17:10:48Z")
> [@edwardcoast](#): > > You have a very good point, as a spouse she can apply for 50% of her husband’s benefit. Come to think of it, that benefit might be higher than her own. If she only worked for 10 years and even though it was full-time, it might not have been a high salary. > > Thanks for the link, “If a spouse is eligible for a retirement benefit based on his or her own earnings, and if that benefit is higher than the spousal benefit, then we pay the retirement benefit. Otherwise we pay the spousal benefit.” > > So either way, they should be covered. I’m going to mention this to my neighbor, but have them talk with their accountant about it, because they are operating under an incorrect assumption that she might get zero. It sounds like they never did serious retirement planning with a professional, otherwise this would have been addressed. > > I like the fact that the spouse’s role and contribution even without paying directly into Social Security is acknowledged and a benefit is paid. Your neighbor should get or borrow [this book.](http://www.amazon.com/Get-Whats-Yours-Secrets-Security/dp/1476772290/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1444064937&sr=1-1&keywords=social+security+get+whats+yours) which covers all the tricks. For maximum spousal benefits, he should delay getting his benefits to the full retirement age, probably 66 for him. That is best for her. Delaying long increases his benefits but not hers. She will almost certainly get more from spousal benefits than from hers. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/7 "2015-10-05T17:24:44Z")
How does this work? Does she get half of his benefits (and he get half) or does he get full benefits and she gets half what he gets? (Plus, I presume, what little she is entitled to herself?) ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/8 "2015-10-05T17:42:29Z")
He gets his full benefits. She gets whatever is greater: 1. 1/2 of his benefits or 2. the benefits she earned. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/9 "2015-10-05T18:21:23Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > How does this work? Does she get half of his benefits (and he get half) or does he get full benefits and she gets half what he gets? (Plus, I presume, what little she is entitled to herself?) He gets full and she gets half - more accurately she gets the greater of her personal benefits or the spousal benefit. Another thing I didn’t know before reading the book is that older benefits get indexed for inflation, so $10,000 of income earned 30 years ago is worth more for benefits calculations than $10,000 earned last year. However I doubt this will boost her to having personal benefits worth more than spousal benefits. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/10 "2015-10-05T18:21:23Z")
She can also claim 71.5% of the survivor benefit at age 60, then change to her own benefit at age 62 or later, to receive a higher benefit. [http://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/ifyou5.html](http://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/ifyou5.html) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/11 "2015-10-05T18:22:29Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > She can also claim 71.5% of the survivor benefit at age 60, then change to her own benefit at age 62 or later, to receive a higher benefit. > > [http://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/ifyou5.html](http://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/ifyou5.html) Only if she kills him. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/12 "2015-10-05T18:49:45Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Only if she kills him. 😃 That is a fly in the ointment. Sorry, I thought we were talking about survivor benefits. ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/13 "2019-12-20T05:02:34Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Only if she kills him. 😃 Hey, we gotta explore all options here. Seriously, I’d think if she were charged with murder she wouldn’t get anything, except an all paid expense trip to jail. ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/14 "2019-12-20T05:07:36Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > That is a fly in the ointment. Sorry, I thought we were talking about survivor benefits. No problem. In summary, it appears from the discussion on here, she will benefit more if she takes 1/2 of Social Security instead of using her own, because she doesn’t have enough credits. When they retire at (I’m guessing) 66 years of age which is full retirement age, he will get 100% of this Social Security and she will get the additional 50% on top of that. Of course, if she returned to work outside of the home while it might not increase the Social Security benefit at all or much, it would allow them to put more in retirement savings and non-retirement savings. Just thought I would mention that, because this isn’t all about maxing Social Security only. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/15 "2019-12-20T05:30:40Z")
actually, if they make it to somewhere between 70-72 and if they find a paying job there’s no earnings limit on a job they find post-retirement My aunt, its almost 70 and when she retires she can still get paid by the state of CA for taking care of her daughter under the IHSS program which several states have copied …and she’s been told she can “retire” from it but still do it and get retirement at the same time ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/16 "2019-12-20T11:38:43Z")
While the bump for this thread may not have been worth it, it’s important to point out a **major** change in spousal benefits since this thread first appeared. The “trick” of filing for 1/2 of you spouse’s SS while delaying you own is being phased out. You have to have been born before Jan. 2, 1954 to file a “restricted” application at your full retirement age. (The other option of file-and-suspend is gone completely.) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/17 "2019-12-20T15:58:29Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > While the bump for this thread may not have been worth it, it’s important to point out a **major** change in spousal benefits since this thread first appeared. > > The “trick” of filing for 1/2 of you spouse’s SS while delaying you own is being phased out. You have to have been born before Jan. 2, 1954 to file a “restricted” application at your full retirement age. (The other option of file-and-suspend is gone completely.) Can you still file for 1/2 your spouse’s (or ex-spouse’s) SS if you don’t intend to then later file under your own? ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/18 "2019-12-20T20:06:37Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Can you still file for 1/2 your spouse’s (or ex-spouse’s) SS if you don’t intend to then later file under your own? If you were born before the cutoff date of Jan. 2, 1954 and have reached full retirement age for your cohort you can file for spousal benefits and receive 50% of your spouse’s benefit. That’s your spouse’s benefit at full retirement age, so if your spouse filed early and took a reduction you’ll get more than 50% of their actual benefit, but if they filed after their full retirement age and receive a bonus you’ll get less. You could then wait to collect on your own record gaining around 8% per year until the age of 70. If you were born after that cutoff date and you file for benefits you would first receive your benefit, then spousal benefits if 50% of your spouses benefit at full retirement age was greater than your benefit. You’d receive the increment to bring your benefit up to 50%. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/19 "2019-12-20T21:05:19Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Can you still file for 1/2 your spouse’s (or ex-spouse’s) SS if you don’t intend to then later file under your own? If you don’t otherwise qualify for a restricted application for spousal benefits, the [SSA](https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/applying6.html) will do this: “If you qualify and apply for your own retirement benefits and for benefits as a spouse, we always pay your own benefits first. If your benefits as a spouse are higher than your own retirement benefits, you will get a combination of benefits equaling the higher spouse benefit.” [My underline.] This rules out any attempt to delay claiming your own benefits later if you have any. ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592/20 "2019-12-20T21:54:45Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > If you don’t otherwise qualify for a restricted application for spousal benefits, the [SSA](https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/applying6.html) will do this: > > “If you qualify and apply for your own retirement benefits and for benefits as a spouse, we always pay your own benefits first. If your benefits as a spouse are higher than your own retirement benefits, you will get a combination of benefits equaling the higher spouse benefit.” [My underline.] > > This rules out any attempt to delay claiming your own benefits later if you have any. This is just for an example: A couple born 1958. Both have their birthday on the same day where in June 1st, 2020 they will both be 62 years of age. The husband has been employed for 40 years. The wife has not earned any social security credits. Their full retirement age is 66 and 7 months. The max retirement age is 70. The husband doesn’t plan to take social security retirement until age 70. Does that mean she can’t start collecting 1/2 of the social security benefit as a spouse until 70? Can she start collecting it at age 62, and does this reduce the benefit in the future? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-benefits-must-have-the-last-35-years/733592.md?page=2)