Know Everything About Social Security Benefits in 2024

Social Security plays a pivotal role in many people’s retirement plans, offering essential support to disabled and retired workers and their families. The program ensures a guaranteed source of lifetime income for those who meet specific criteria. Here’s a closer examination of how Social Security operates, the different types of benefits it provides, and what individuals can expect when they’re ready to claim benefits.

How Social Security Benefits works

Social Security is a government program, collects taxes from working Americans and distributes these funds to qualifying disabled workers, retirees, and their families to help them maintain financial security.

To qualify for Social Security, a worker typically needs to earn 40 credits. Although individuals who die or become disabled young may qualify with fewer credits. A credit is defined as $1,640 of earned income in 2023 and $1,730 of earned income in 2024. You can earn up to four credits per year.

If you’re ready to apply for Social Security benefits, you have several options depending on your work record or your spouse’s. If you’ve accumulated enough credits, you can claim benefits based on your own work record. Alternatively, you might qualify for spousal benefits based on your current or ex-spouse’s work record if it results in a larger benefit amount. Additionally, dependent children and other family members may be eligible for family benefits under certain circumstances.

To start the application process, you’ll need to complete an application either online through the Social Security Administration’s website or by visiting your local Social Security Administration office. A government representative will review your application to verify your eligibility. Once approved, you’ll begin receiving monthly benefit payments.

• Learn about Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME)

Types of Social Security benefits

There are three main types of Social Security benefits:

• Retirement benefits
• Disability benefits
• Survivors benefits

what benefits you get after retirement

Social Security retirement benefits are available for workers aged 62 and older who have accumulated at least 40 credits. The amount of your benefit payments is determined by your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) over your 35 highest-earning years and the age at which you choose to begin receiving benefits.

You must wait until your full retirement age (FRA) to claim your standard benefit based on your AIME. The FRA is 66 for individuals born between 1943 and 1954. For those born between 1955 and 1959, the FRA increases by two months each year thereafter. Anyone born in 1960 or later has a full retirement age of 67.

• Now If you will be under your full retirement age all year in 2023, $1 is deducted from your benefits for every $2 you earn above $21,240 per year.
• For 2024, if you will be under your full retirement age all year, $1 is deducted from your benefits for every $2 you earn above $22,320 per year.
• If you will reach “Full Retirement Age” in 2023, $1 is deducted from your benefits for every $3 you earn over $56,520.
• Similarly, for those reaching full retirement age in 2024, $1 is deducted from benefits for every $3 earned over $59,520.

Once you surpass your full retirement age, the government recalculates your benefit to include the amount previously withheld. Certain family members may claim benefits on your work record if doing so would result in higher benefits than they are eligible for based on their own work record.

Which family members may be eligible for social security survivor benefits when a person dies

• Spouses (age 62 year)
• Ex-spouses, aged 62, (if the marriage lasted for at least 10 years and after they have not remarried),
• Children under 18 (or up to 19 if still enrolled in high school), as well as children of any age who were disabled before 22 and are not earning more than $1,470 per month in 2023 or $1,550 per month in 2024, may qualify for Social Security benefits.

Social Security defines disability as a medical condition resulting in severe functional limitations expected to last 12 months or longer or result in death.

In order to claim benefits, spouses and ex-spouses must be at least 62 years old, while spouses and children must wait for the worker to begin claiming benefits themselves before they can claim family benefits on their record.

Disability Benefits in context with social security.

Social Security disability benefits are provided to individuals aged 18 or older who are unable to work due to a physical or mental disability expected to last at least 12 months or result in death. Eligibility may be granted even if the individual hasn’t earned 40 credits, depending on their age at the time of disability. The benefit amount is determined by the individual’s average lifetime earnings, with those who earned more while working receiving larger disability checks.

To apply for disability benefits, individuals must provide the government with details about their work history and medical condition, along with relevant supporting documents. The Social Security Administration reviews each case to determine eligibility. If approved, disability checks are issued for the duration of the disability or the individual’s lifetime, depending on the condition. If denied, individuals have the option to request reconsideration or appeal to an administrative law judge.

Family members may also qualify for benefits based on a disabled worker’s record. This includes spouses aged 62 or older or any age if caring for a disabled worker’s disabled child or child aged 16 or younger, as well as eligible ex-spouses married to the disabled worker for at least 10 years who haven’t remarried. Unmarried children up to 18, or 19 if still attending high school, and children of any age who were disabled before 22, may also be eligible.

Spousal Benefit or Survivors benefits

Survivors benefits are provided to the family members of deceased workers who qualified for Social Security.

Surviving spouses aged 60 or older (50 or older if disabled) may claim survivors benefits. Additionally, surviving spouses of any age can claim benefits if they are caring for the deceased worker’s child who is under 16 or disabled. The same eligibility criteria apply to ex-spouses as long as they were married to the deceased worker for at least 10 years and have not remarried.

Children of the deceased worker under 18, or up to 19 if still enrolled in high school, are eligible for benefits. Disabled children of any age qualify if they were disabled before 22. Parents of the deceased worker may also qualify for benefits if the deceased provided 50% or more of their financial support before passing away.

In addition to these benefits, the surviving spouse or children may be eligible for a one-time death benefit of $255.

What is Social Security and when it came into existence.

The Social Security program was established by the Social Security Act signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935. The first benefit checks were distributed in 1940. Initially, benefits were only provided to workers aged 65 and older. However, in the 1970s, the government amended the program to allow workers to claim benefits as early as age 62. Additionally, annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) were introduced to ensure Social Security benefits kept pace with inflation.

While the program has functioned relatively well thus far. Some concerns arise for the future due to the projected decrease in the number of workers supporting a larger population of Social Security recipients.

According to the latest Social Security Trustees’ Report, the retirement trust fund could be exhausted by 2033, resulting in the program’s ability to pay out only about 77% of benefits to retirees. While previous reports suggested that Social Security’s disability trust fund would be depleted by 2057, the latest report predicts that the disability trust fund will remain solvent for the next 75 years.

Various solutions have been proposed by the government to ensure the long-term sustainability of the program, although no definitive plans have been implemented yet. While there’s no immediate risk of the program disappearing within the next decade or two, it’s possible that future benefits may not be as substantial as they are currently. As a result, it’s crucial for today’s workers to prioritize personal retirement savings to cover a significant portion of their expenses independently.