To get Social Security retirement benefits on your own work record, you need 40 credits. Each year, the amount you must earn for one credit goes up a little. For 2027, it rises to $1,970.
That number matters a lot for teachers, police officers and other public workers whose main job does not pay into Social Security. Here is why, and how to tell where you stand.
What a credit is
A credit is how Social Security counts your work. You earn credits by working in jobs that take out Social Security tax. You can earn up to 4 credits a year, no matter how much you make.
| Year | One credit | All 4 credits |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,730 | $6,920 |
| 2025 | $1,810 | $7,240 |
| 2026 | $1,890 | $7,560 |
| 2027 | $1,970 | $7,880 |
It does not matter when in the year you earn the money. If you earn $7,880 in a summer job in 2027, you get all 4 credits for the year, even if you did not work the rest of the year.
Why you need 40
Forty credits is about 10 years of work. It is the line for a retirement benefit on your own record. With 39 credits, you get nothing from your own work. With 40, you qualify, and your benefit is based on your best 35 years of earnings.
The years do not need to be in a row. Credits from a job at 19 still count at 65.
Why public workers often fall short
About one in four state and local government workers have a job that does not pay into Social Security. That includes most teachers in California, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Colorado and other states, and many police officers and firefighters. Those years earn no credits.
So a teacher might reach retirement with credits only from:
- Jobs in high school and college
- Work before they started teaching
- Summer jobs
- A second job during the school year
Many people in this group end up with 25 to 35 credits. Close, but not enough.
The good news: the gap is often small
Say you have 32 credits. You need 8 more. In 2027 that is two years with at least $7,880 of covered pay each year. That could be:
- A summer job
- Part-time tutoring for a private company
- Coaching or teaching for a private school or program
- A few years of work after you retire from your pension job
Self-employment counts too, as long as you pay self-employment tax on your earnings.
Why it is worth more now
Before 2024, a public pension cut the Social Security you earned in other jobs. That rule, the Windfall Elimination Provision, is gone. So reaching 40 credits now unlocks your full benefit, on top of your pension.
Here is a simple example. Rosa taught in Ohio for 30 years and has 34 credits from earlier jobs. She takes a part-time job after retiring and earns $9,000 a year for two years. That gives her 8 more credits and 42 in total. She now qualifies for her own Social Security. It will be a modest check, but it is paid for life and gets a raise every year.
Credits never expire
Credits stay on your record forever. If you stopped working in a covered job 20 years ago, those credits still count. You only need to add the missing ones.
Medicare uses credits too
Medicare Part A is free if you have 40 credits of work that paid the Medicare tax. Most public workers hired after March 1986 pay the Medicare tax even when they do not pay Social Security tax. So many teachers have Medicare credits even without Social Security credits. If you do not, you may get free Part A through your spouse.
How to check your credits
- Open a my Social Security account at ssa.gov.
- Look at your earnings record. It lists your covered earnings by year.
- Enter those years into our 40-credit checker. It counts your credits and shows how many more you need, and when you will get there.
If a year looks wrong or missing, tell Social Security and keep your W-2 forms as proof. Mistakes are easier to fix while the records are recent.
Questions people ask
Do my teaching years count if I paid into my pension? No. Only jobs that withheld Social Security tax count. Look for “Social Security” or “OASDI” on your pay stub.
What if I never reach 40? You may still get a spousal or widow’s benefit from your husband’s or wife’s record. That no longer gets cut by your pension. Try the spousal and survivor calculator.
Can I earn more than 4 credits in a year? No. Four is the most, however much you earn.