10 Things You Need to Know About Social Security

4. How long do I need to work to become eligible for benefits?

For retirement benefits, at least 10 years. Social Security uses a system of credits, which you collect by working and paying Social Security taxes. You can earn up to four credits a year, and you need 40 credits to qualify for retirement benefits. The credit threshold may be lower for disability benefits.

5. Must I stop working to collect retirement benefits?

No, you can receive benefits while working. But if you are below full retirement age and earn more than a certain amount, your monthly benefits will be temporarily reduced. Once you reach full retirement age, the reduction is eliminated, and your benefits will be increased to make up for what was lost over time.

6. How much will I get from Social Security?

That depends on a number of factors, most crucially your lifetime earnings from work in which you paid Social Security taxes. Social Security takes your 35 highest-earnings years, calculates an inflation-adjusted average, and plugs that into a progressive formula that determines your “basic” benefit. How old you are when you claim benefits will also affect the amount. You won't know it for sure until you file, but you can use the AARP Social Security Calculator to get an estimate.

7. What's the maximum monthly Social Security benefit? 

For a worker claiming Social Security in 2025 at full retirement age, the highest monthly amount is $4,018. That’s about double the estimated average retirement benefit ($1,981 in February 2025). To draw the top benefit, your earnings must have exceeded Social Security's maximum taxable income — the annually adjusted cap on how much of your income is subject to Social Security taxes — for at least 35 years of your working life.

8. How can I boost the amount of my benefit?

The longer you wait to collect after you become eligible, the more you will receive. Say you were born in 1963. If you claim Social Security upon turning 62, you'll get 70 percent of the benefit amount calculated from your lifetime earnings. If you wait until full retirement age — in your case, 67 — you'll get 100 percent. Delay past full retirement age and Social Security increases your benefit by 8 percent a year until you hit 70. There's no financial incentive to delay past age 70.

9. Can I receive Social Security benefits based on an ex-spouse's earnings?

You may be able to claim a divorced-spouse benefit if the marriage lasted at least 10 years, you are at least 62 years old and you have not remarried. If so, you could get up to 50 percent of your former spouse's full benefit amount — but only if that exceeds your own retirement benefit. Social Security will pay the higher of the two amounts, not both.

10. When someone dies, how does Social Security know?

The SSA receives reports of beneficiaries’ deaths from family members, funeral homes and government agencies. Even if you know another entity will report the death of a member of your family, it's a good idea to inform Social Security yourself (by calling 800-772-1213) as soon as possible.