Am I eligible for Social Security retirement benefits?

To get Social Security retirement benefits, you must

    Be at least 62 years old; and
    Have earned 40 Social Security credits (by working and paying Social Security taxes to the U.S. government for 10 full years).

You can start getting retirement benefits as early as age 62. But depending on your situation, you may want to wait so you can get a higher monthly benefit.[1645] This age may be 65, 66, or 67, depending on what year you were born.[1646]

  1. 1645

    When to Start Receiving Retirement Benefits, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/EN-05-10147.pdf.

  2. 1646

    To find out the full retirement age for your birth year, call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 or visit the SSA website to See a chart: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/retire2/retirechart.htm. If you decide to start getting retirement benefits earlier, Social Security will reduce the benefit amount you get per month. If you delay getting retirement benefits until age 70 or later, you get a special credit for each month after age 70 that you’re not getting retirement benefits. Your Right to Representation (2011), Prison Law Office, http://www.prisonlaw.com/pdfs/BenefitsLetter,Aug2011.pdf.