Social Security in two minutes
Social Security is the federal retirement, disability and survivor program almost every worker pays into. You pay 6.2% of your pay, and your employer pays another 6.2%. After about 10 years of work, or 40 credits, you qualify for a monthly check for life that rises with inflation every year.
Your check is based on your 35 highest-earning years. The formula replaces a bigger share of pay for lower earners, so someone who earned $40,000 a year gets back a larger percentage than someone who earned $150,000. The age you claim matters as much as what you earned: claiming at 62 pays 70% of your full benefit, and waiting until 70 pays 124%.
Spouses, widows and widowers, divorced spouses married at least 10 years, and young children can also collect on your record. The main exceptions are some teachers, police officers, firefighters and other public workers whose jobs pay into a pension instead. Since 2024, their pensions no longer cut the Social Security they earn elsewhere.
