Ask Rusty – Social Security Says I’m Not Eligible for Benefits
“In this podcast, Rusty addresses a question from a self-employed business owner who apparently did not have enough Social Security credits to be eligible for retirement benefits. Rusty explains how benefits are earned, especially by self-employed persons, and also how to mitigate that issue.”
This recording presents the viewpoints of the AMAC Foundation’s Social Security Advisory Staff, trained and accredited under the National Social Security Advisors program of the National Social Security Association, LLC (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation are not affiliated with or endorsed by the United States Government, the Social Security Administration, or any other state government. To request additional information, contact our Advisory Staff at 888-750-2622, or email us at SSAdvisor@AmacFoundation.org.
Rusty, I turn 65 Aug this year and have submitted my application for SSi and Medicare. Benefits start one month after I turn 65. My wife turns 65 Dec this year. She does not have the 40 credits for SSi. She would like to apply for the spousal benefit at age 67. We are not sure how to apply for this. Should I start the application process on my SSA.gov account or should does she apply on her SSA.gov?
Thanks
When you wife is 67, which is her full retirement age, she can contact SSA at 1-800-772-1213 to request an appointment to apply for her spouse benefits on your SS record. At age 67, your wife will get 50% of the benefit you are entitled to at your full retirement age. If you have further questions, please email us at SSAdvisor@amacfoundation.org or call us at 1-888-750-2622.
Thanks for the case example for eligibility.
When the SS rep told this person they were not eligible, assuming they specified not eligible based on this person’s work record, wouldn’t the SS rep mention theat the worker may be eligible for a spousal benefit, as this isn’t mentioned.
My second question, which is for my curiosity sake, is on the minimum quarterly earned income requirement for that to count as a ‘good quarter’. How is this calculated? Does the worker add up all net earned income, from all sources for the year and divide this by 4 to see if it averages out to over $1,890 so all 4 quarters will count? Or if its a smaller annual earnings number under $7,560, say its $6,000, would the worker get credit for just the first 3 quarters where 3 quarters of $1,890 = $5,670 is less than the $6,000 earnings?
Thanks much
Bruce:
When a Social Security representative is interviewing any member of the public, they are supposed to be trained to screen a person’s eligibility for benefits under their own earnings record first. No matter what is found, eligible or not, they are also supposed to screen for any other types of possible benefits for that individual, such as spousal benefits. If this doesn’t happen, the SSA representative hasn’t done their job properly. This lack of benefit screening opens up the possibility of the inquiring individual to filing a future appeal based on incorrect advice regarding any other potential Social Security benefit. It also opens the possibility of retroactive benefits becoming payable. It’s always good practice for one to maintain records as to when and who they spoke with at SSA.
Regarding your question about Quarters of Coverage or as I usually refer to them as “credits” in order to qualify for benefits, you are correct in your inquiry. It truly doesn’t matter when one has earned the $7560 or more in order to attain all 4 credits for the calendar year. One may have earned these credits in one month or over the course of all 12 months. Every $1890 of earned income from wages or net profit from self-employment that one has paid FICA taxes on, they have earned that a credit or quarter of coverage. It is also true that if one doesn’t earn and pay FICA taxes on the full $7560 for the calendar year, they will only earn a credit for each $1890 they earned and paid the tax for.
I hope this answers your questions and provides some valuable guidance. Please don’t hesitate to contact us again by email or call our office at 1-888-750-2622 during our business hours of Monday-Friday, 9 AM- 5 PM.
Ken Baron, Social Security Advisor
AMAC Foundation, Inc.
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