The Social Security Administration (SSA) delivers retirement benefit payments to retired workers who meet all the requirements and file at the age of 62 or later. In general, you will need at least 40 work credits, which is about 10 years of work.
Not all retirees receive the same payment amount or the money on the same payday. For example, there are only two large groups of American retirees who can receive the first February payments from Social Security on the 3rd.
Social Security eligibility for February 3
One large group of recipients who qualify for a payment on the third will be those who started receiving retirement benefit payments before May 1997. Therefore, you must have been on benefits for more than 27 years.
Nevertheless, some retirees who have filed much later may also qualify. This will be possible if you are receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security income simultaneously.
If you do not meet any of these 2 requirements, the Agency will check your birth date. In this way, the earlier in the month you were born, the sooner your payment will be delivered. The other paydays will be on February 12, 19, and 26 if born from 1-10, 11-20, and 21-31 each in order.
Average Social Security payments
The average amount a Social Security recipient on retirement benefits will be $1,976. Actually, this average payment has gone up by 2.5% thanks to the Cost-of-Living Adjustment.
Lower payments will be for those workers who had low wages, worked for just ten years or for fewer than 35, and filed at the age of 62. On the contrary, there could be high checks if:
- you filed at 70
- worked for 35 years
- had jobs that paid payroll taxes to SSA
- do not break SSA rules
- earned the contribution and benefit base for 35 years too
For your information, some members of your household, like your children or spouse may qualify for Social Security checks on your record. Check it on your Statement before you apply for retirement.
