Jump to content
Social Security Online
Retirement & Medicare
Plan Your Retirement SSA logo: link to Social Security Online home

Qualify and Apply

 

If you qualify... Apply for retirement benefits online

If you apply, please be ready to supply the information we need to approve your application for these benefits:

Find out if you're eligible for Social Security Benefits

Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool (BEST)
Use our screening tool to help identify all the different Social Security programs for which you may be eligible.
 

Who is eligible for retirement

If you were born in 1929 or later, you need to have worked for at least 10 years to be eligible for retirement benefits. If you're eligible for retirement benefits, some members of your family also can receive benefits.
 

When you can retire

If you were born before 1938, your "full retirement age" is 65. Because of longer life expectancies, the full retirement age is increasing for people born after 1938. You can start your Social Security benefits as early as age 62, but the amount you receive each month will be less than if you start at full retirement age.

How your age at retirement affects how much you receive

Use our online Benefit Calculators to see how much you can collect at different ages. Talk to a Social Security representative the year before you plan to retire--it may be to your advantage to start your retirement benefits before you stop working.

Retirement benefits and divorce

If you are divorced after at least 10 years of marriage, you can collect retirement benefits on your former spouse's Social Security record if you are at least age 62 and if your former spouse is entitled to or receiving benefits. If you remarry before age 60, you generally cannot collect benefits on your former spouse's record unless your later marriage ends.

 

Benefits for children of retirees

Social Security Dependents' Benefits are payable to your unmarried children under age 18, or age 19 if they're still in high school, or to your children age 18 or over who were severely disabled before age 22 and who continue to be disabled. Benefits can continue to be paid into adulthood if your child has a disability that began prior to age 22.

 

Working after retirement

Once you reach full retirement age (65 for people born before 1938), there is no limit on the amount you can earn while collecting Social Security benefits. Before age 65, your payments may be reduced depending on the amount you earn.

 

Medicare and retirement

If you're getting Social Security benefits when you turn 65, your Medicare Hospital Benefits start automatically. If you're not getting Social Security, you should sign up for Medicare close to your 65th birthday, even if you aren't ready to retire.

 

Leaving the United States

If you're a United States citizen, you can travel or live in most foreign countries without affecting your eligibility for Social Security benefits. If you work outside the United States, different rules apply to whether you can get your benefit checks.
 

 

How to Apply for Retirement Benefits

You can file:

When you file, please be ready to supply the information we need to approve your application for these benefits:

If you do not have a birth certificate, you may request one from the State where you were born. See Where to Write for Vital Records for details on where to write in your State.

Also, bring along your bank information so you can sign up for Direct Deposit, and eliminate worries about lost or stolen checks or mail delays.
 

 

 

For more details, see the publication Retirement Benefits.

 
 Link to FirstGov.gov: U.S. Government portal Privacy Policy | Accessibility Policy | Linking Policy | Site Map Link to GovBenefits.gov:  Learn about other government benefits