You start down the road to eligibility by working and paying Social Security taxes, either through payroll deductions (required by the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, or FICA) or through income tax filings if you are self-employed (required by the Self-Employed Contributions Act, or SECA).
You qualify for Social Security by compiling credits when you pay Social Security taxes on your earnings. You can earn up to four credits per year. Workers qualify for Social Security retirement benefits when they reach 40 lifetime credits.
In 2022, $1,510 in income from “covered” employment — work in which you paid Social Security taxes — equals one work credit. You can reach your four-credit maximum by earning at least $6,040 for the year. The credit amounts are adjusted annually for inflation.
You become eligible to collect Social Security retirement benefits at age 62. You can check on your eligibility, earnings history and estimated future benefits on the Social Security statement at your online My Social Security account.
Keep in mind
- While you can start collecting retirement benefits at age 62, your payments are reduced if you claim them before reaching full retirement age (FRA), which is 66 and 4 months for people born in 1956 and is gradually going up to 67. If you wait until FRA to file, you qualify for 100 percent of the benefit calculated from your lifetime earnings.
- You can further increase your retirement benefit by filing as late as age 70.
- Retirement benefits are just one type of Social Security benefit. There are also survivor benefits, spousal benefits and disability benefits, all of which have their own qualification criteria. To find out more about eligibility for those programs, you can use Social Security’s Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool.
What Documents Do You Need to Apply for Retirement Benefits? (En español)
We request different documents depending on your circumstances. You can help by being ready to provide the information and documents listed below. You can also use our
Checklist For The Online Medicare, Retirement, And Spouses Application to help you gather the information you need to apply. Documents we may ask for include: If our records show you’ve already provided proof of age or citizenship or lawful alien status for an earlier Medicare or
Social Security claim, you do not need to submit the documents again. We will return all documents and photocopies unless specifically told otherwise. Even if you don't have everything, don't delay applying for Social Security retirement benefits. You can provide the missing documents later. We may be able to help you get them. In many cases, your local Social Security
office can contact your state Bureau of Vital Statistics and verify your information online at no cost to you or find other ways to get the information we need. If you delay signing up, you could lose some benefits you may be due.If You Don't Have All Of The Documents
Understanding SSI Home Page / Understanding Supplemental Security Income SSI Eligibility Requirements Anyone who is:SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME (SSI) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR SSI?
And, who:
WHAT DOES "AGED" MEAN?
"Aged" means age 65 or older.
WHAT IS "BLINDNESS" FOR AN ADULT OR CHILD?
Blindness in our disability programs means:
If you have a visual impairment, but are not blind according to our rules as defined above, you may still be eligible for SSI benefits on the basis of disability. See the definitions of disability for children and adults
below.
WHAT DOES “DISABLED” MEAN FOR A CHILD?
If you are under age 18 we may consider you “disabled” if you have a medically determinable physical or mental impairment, (including an emotional or learning problem) that:
If you are age 18 or older, the adult definition of disability explained below applies.
WHAT DOES “DISABLED” MEAN FOR AN ADULT?
If you are age 18 or older we may consider you “disabled” if you have a medically determinable physical or mental impairment (including an emotional or learning problem) which:
SSA is committed to providing benefits quickly to claimants whose medical conditions are so serious that their conditions clearly meet disability standards.
Compassionate Allowances (CAL) are a way to quickly identify diseases and other medical conditions that, by definition, meet Social Security’s standards for disability benefits. These conditions primarily include certain cancers, adult brain disorders, and a number of rare disorders that affect children. The CAL initiative helps reduce waiting time to reach a disability determination for individuals with the most serious disabilities. By incorporating cutting-edge technology, the agency can easily identify potential CAL to quickly make decisions. SSA receives information form the public, advocacy groups, comments received from the Social Security and Disability Determination Services communities, counsel from medical and scientific experts, research with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and information received from past public outreach hearings regarding potential CAL conditions. Go to www.ssa.gov/compassionateallowances/ for more information on CAL.
WHAT DOES "LIMITED INCOME"INCLUDE?
Income, for the purposes of SSI includes:
We do not count all income for SSI, but income that we do count reduces your SSI benefit amount. For more information, see SSI INCOME. |
WHAT ARE "LIMITED RESOURCES"?
Resources, for the purposes of SSI, are things you own such as:
We do not count the value of all of your resources for SSI. See SSI RESOURCES. |
The SSI limits for resources that we do count are:
Individual/Child — $2,000
Couple — $3,000
CITIZEN / NON–CITIZEN STATUS
To get SSI, you must be:
WHEN IS A NON-CITIZEN ELIGIBLE FOR SSI?
Beginning August 22, 1996, most non–citizens must meet two requirements to be eligible for SSI:
A non–citizen must also meet all of the other requirements for SSI eligibility, including the limits on income, resources, etc.
WHO IS A “QUALIFIED ALIEN”?
There are seven categories of non–citizens who are qualified aliens. You are a "qualified alien" if the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says you are in one of these categories:- Lawfully admitted for Permanent Residence (LAPR) in the U.S., including "Amerasian immigrant" as defined in P.L. 100-202, with a class of admission AM-1 through AM-8;
- Granted conditional entry under Section
203(a)(7)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) as in effect before April 1, 1980; - Paroled into the
U.S. under Section
212(d)(5)
of the INA for a period of at least one year; - Refugee admitted to the U.S. under Section 207 of the INA;
- Granted asylum under Section 208 of the INA;
- Deportation is being withheld under Section
243(h)
of the INA as in effect before April 1, 1997, or removal is being withheld under Section241(b)(3) of the INA;
- A “Cuban or Haitian entrant” under
Section
501(e)
of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980 or in a status that is to be treated as a “Cuban/Haitian entrant” for SSI purposes.
In addition, you can be a “deemed qualified alien” if, under certain circumstances, you, your child, or your parent has been subjected to battery or extreme cruelty by a family member while in the United States.
UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS IS A “QUALIFIED ALIEN” ELIGIBLE FOR SSI?
If you are in one of the seven "qualified alien" categories listed above, or have been determined to be a “deemed qualified alien” because you have been subjected to battery or extreme cruelty, you may be eligible for SSI benefits if you have limited income and resources and are aged, blind, or disabled and also meet one of the following conditions:
- You were receiving SSI and lawfully residing in the U.S. on August 22, 1996.
- You are a Lawfully Admitted for Permanent Residence (LAPR) with 40 qualifying
quarters of earnings. Work done by your spouse or parent(s) may also count toward the 40 quarters of earnings, but only for getting SSI.
We cannot count quarters of earnings earned after December 31, 1996, if you, your spouse, or your parent(s) worked or received certain benefits from the U.S. government based on limited income and resources during that period.
IMPORTANT: If you entered the U.S. on or after August 22, 1996, then you may not be eligible for SSI for the first 5 years as a LAPR, even if you have 40 qualifying quarters of earnings.
- You are currently on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces, or you are an honorably discharged veteran and your discharge is not because you are an alien. This condition may also apply if you are the spouse, widow(er), or dependent child of certain U.S. military personnel.
- You were lawfully residing in the United States on August 22, 1996, and you are blind or disabled.
- You may receive SSI for a maximum of 7 years from the date DHS granted you qualified alien status in one of the following categories, and the status was granted within seven years of filing for SSI:
EXEMPTION FROM THE AUGUST 22, 1996 LAW FOR CERTAIN NON-CITIZEN INDIANS
Certain categories of non–citizens may be eligible for SSI and are not subject to the August 22, 1996, law. These categories include:
ADDITIONAL ELIGIBLE ALIEN CATEGORIES
Victims of Severe Forms of Human Trafficking: You may be eligible for SSI under certain circumstances if the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement and the Department of Homeland Security determine that you meet the requirements of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
Iraqi/Afghan Special Immigrants: You may also qualify for SSI for a period of seven years if you are an Iraqi or Afghani special immigrant admitted to the United States. On September 30, 2021, Congress passed the Afghanistan Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022 (Public Law 117-43) and Section 2502 of this legislation provides that Afghan humanitarian parolees, known as Non-Special Immigrant Parolees, may qualify for SSI until March 31, 2023, or until the end of their parole period, whichever is later.
WHAT IS RESIDENCY?
You must:
WHO IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR SSI?
Some examples of who is not eligible for SSI include, but are not limited to:
SOMEONE WHO HAS AN UNSATISFIED FELONY OR ARREST WARRANT
You are ineligible to receive SSI benefits for any month during which you have an unsatisfied felony OR arrest warrant for:
In addition, we cannot pay you any retroactive payments if you have one of these unsatisfied felony or arrest warrants. We will hold your retroactive payments until you contact SSA and provide proof that you satisfied the felony or arrest warrant.
SOMEONE WHO IS IN PRISON OR JAIL
If you are receiving SSI and you go to prison or jail, (this also includes correctional institutions, such as detention centers, halfway houses, boot camps, etc. but does not necessarily include home confinement) you are not eligible to receive SSI for any full calendar month you are incarcerated. In addition, we cannot pay any retroactive payments for benefits due before you were incarcerated. We will hold the retroactive payments until you contact SSA and provide proof that you are no longer a prisoner.
Please see our pamphlet, ‘What Prisoners Need to Know’ or view it online at www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10133.pdf if you want more information about how being in jail or prison affects your SSI benefits.
In most instances, you can apply for SSI benefits and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits several months before you expect to be released from prison or jail. See the SSI spotlight on the Prerelease Procedure.
SOMEONE WHO IS IN A PUBLIC INSTITUTION
If you are in any institution for a whole month that is run by a Federal, State or local government, you are not eligible for SSI for that month unless an exception applies such as residence in a public emergency shelter for the homeless or publicly operated community residence. If you expect to leave the institution, you may use the prerelease procedure described in the SSI spotlight on the Prerelease Procedure.
SOMEONE WHO GIVES AWAY RESOURCES
If you give away a resource or sell it for less than it is worth in order to reduce your resources below the SSI resource limit, you may be ineligible for SSI for up to 36 months.
SOMEONE WHO IS A NON–CITIZEN SSI RECIPIENT WHO FAILS TO MEET THE ALIEN STATUS REQUIREMENTS
SOMEONE WHO IS AN SSI RECIPIENT WHO IS ABSENT FROM THE U.S. FOR A FULL CALENDAR MONTH OR FOR 30 CONSECUTIVE DAYS OR MORE
Except for certain students temporarily abroad for study purposes or a child of military parents stationed overseas, an individual is not eligible for SSI benefits for any month during all of which he or she has been outside the U.S. Once an individual has been outside the U.S. for 30 consecutive days or longer, he or she must be back in the U.S. for 30 consecutive days to be eligible for SSI benefits.