The Social Security Administration (SSA) requires workers to earn work credits to be eligible for retirement benefits at the age of 62 or later. These work credits can be earned when you work in jobs covered by the SSA. Thus, you must have a minimum number of covered earnings to get 1 credit.
As a matter of fact, you can earn up to 4 work credits per year. Therefore, you must have had $1,810 in covered earnings to get a single Social Security credit. However, to get four, you will need four times that amount. So, you must have earned $7,240 in covered earnings.
So, are you in time to earn 4 Social Security credits in 2025?
There is plenty of time to earn 4 work credits, the maximum the Social Security Administration allows in one year. Nevertheless, it will depend on whether you can earn $7,240 in covered earnings or not.
Approximately, you would need to have $1,448 in covered earnings per month, from August through December, if you have just started working for the first time in your life.
Remember that the amount of money in covered earnings varies from year to year. COLA increases affect this amount, which is known as the quarter of coverage.
When will Social Security increase the covered earnings you need to get work credits?
First, you need to know that the COLA figure will be announced in mid-October. So, on October 15, it will be possible to know how much retirement benefits will increase.
It will not be until January 2026 when the Social Security Administration will increase the quarter of coverage that affects the amount of money you will need in covered earnings.
For example, the quarter of coverage was $1,730 before the 2025 took effect on January 1, 2025. Thus, a worker needed less money in covered earnings to get a single Social Security credit.
No doubt COLA helps American retirees, SSI, and SSDI recipients maintain their buying power. On the contrary, workers are required to have higher earnings to earn the same number of credits per year.
Source:
https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/credits.html
