How to apply for Social Security (plus more ways to boost your income in retirement)

Over 75 million people — approximately one in five Americans — receive some form of Social Security benefit. The majority are retirees, but the Social Security Administration (SSA) also provides regular income to disabled workers, widowed spouses and children of deceased workers.

In some cases, you can claim more than one kind of benefit.

Here’s what you need to know about applying for Social Security retirement benefits, including what you are eligible for, when you can apply and how to file a claim when you’re ready.

Most people are aware of the age requirements to collect Social Security retirement benefits, but there are other qualifications:

1. Age

You can begin receiving Social Security at 62, but your benefits will be reduced each year you get a check before you reach your full retirement age (FRA). For people born in 1959, the FRA is 66 and 10 months. For anyone born in 1960 or later, it’s 67. (Anyone born before 1959 has already reached their FRA.)

2. Social Security credits

To claim retirement benefits, you must have earned 40 Social Security credits (equal to 10 years of work). You can earn up to four credits per year, based on your total wages and self-employment income. In 2026, you earn one credit for every $1,890 in covered earnings and must earn $7,560 to get all four credits for the year.

3. Employment status

While you can collect Social Security while still working, if you are under your FRA and earn over a certain amount, your monthly payments will be temporarily reduced. 

In 2026: 

• If you are under your FRA, you can earn up to $24,480 per year and receive your full benefits. If you earn more than that, the SSA will deduct $1 for every $2 you earn above the limit. 
• The year you reach FRA, your income limit jumps to $65,160. For every $3 you earn above that, however, the SSA will deduct $1 from your benefits. (This only applies to earnings made before the month you reach your FRA.)
• At full retirement age: Starting the month you reach your FRA, there are no earnings limits. You can earn as much as you want without your benefits being reduced.  

Once you reach your FRA, the SSA will recalculate your monthly benefit to credit you back for the time that benefits were withheld.

4. Legal status

You must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident (green card holder) or hold a valid temporary visa with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) work authorization to collect Social Security.

Undocumented immigrants and those without valid work authorization are ineligible, even if they paid into the system.

You’ll need to provide the SSA with certain information, including:

• Your Social Security number
• The date and place of your birth
• Your citizenship status 
• The date of birth or age of your current spouse and any former spouse, as well as the dates and places of any marriages, divorces or spousal deaths
• The names of any unmarried children under age 18, age 18-19 and in elementary or secondary school, or disabled before age 22
•  Whether you or anyone else has ever filed for Social Security benefits, Medicare or Supplemental Security Income on your behalf  
• Whether you have used any other Social Security number
• The month you want your benefits to begin
• If you are within three months of age 65, whether you want to enroll in Medical Insurance (Part B of Medicare). 

You can apply for Social Security retirement benefits by phone at 800-772-1213 or in person at the nearest field office. But the online application process is secure, convenient and quick.

To apply online, create a My Social Security account and fill out the application. When it’s complete, you’ll be able to check the status of your application, print a benefit verification letter, set up direct deposit, review your benefits information, find tax documents and request a replacement Social Security card.

Log in to your account and select “Apply.” The website will walk you through the application process, and you can save your progress to return to later. 

After completing the application, click “submit.”

You can review the status of your application on the dashboard of your My Social Security account. The SSA may also contact you with additional questions.

Once your application is approved, you’ll begin receiving monthly Social Security payments, based on your lifetime earnings, your age and the year you are claiming.

Over 99% of beneficiaries receive their benefits through direct deposit or a Direct Express® debit card. The Treasury Department only issues paper checks in limited circumstances — such as for people over 90, with mental impairments or who live in remote areas without reliable access to electronic banking.

You can apply for Social Security up to four months before the date you want your benefits to begin. Because benefits cannot start until your first full month as a 62-year-old, the earliest you can submit your application is four months before the month you turn 62.

Benefits are paid one month in arrears. During the application process, you’ll be asked to select the month in which you want your benefits to start, which can be up to four months after your application.

For example, if you want to receive your first Social Security payment in May, you can generally apply as early as December and as late as April, then select April as your benefit start month.

Your first payment will arrive in May, on the scheduled payment date. Checks are generally distributed on Wednesdays, based on the day of the month you were born. If you were born:

• Between 1st–10th, you’ll be paid on the second Wednesday of each month.
• Between 11th–20th, you’ll be paid on the third Wednesday of each month.
• Between 21st–31st, you’ll be paid on the fourth Wednesday of each month

People who started receiving benefits before May 1997 are generally paid on the third of the month.

If your application is declined, there are four levels of appeals.  You have the right to representation throughout the process.

• Reconsideration: You can submit a request for reconsideration through your My Social Security account.  
• Hearing: If your request for reconsideration fails, you can ask for a hearing with an administrative law judge.
• Review of hearing: If you don’t agree with the judge’s decision, you can ask to have the decision reviewed by the Appeals Council.
• Federal court district action: If you don’t agree with the decision of the Appeals Council, you can file an action with the U.S. District Court.

If the District Court upholds the denial, your application is considered exhausted. You may be able to file a new application later if circumstances change or new evidence becomes available.

The Social Security Administration calculates your retirement benefits by reviewing your lifetime earnings and indexing your highest 35 years of earnings to wage growth to produce an Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME).

Your AIME is then used in a progressive formula to determine your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), the benefit you’d receive if you began claiming at your full retirement age (FRA).

For people born in 1959, the FRA is 66 and 10 months. For anyone born in 1960 or later, it’s 67. You can start claiming Social Security at 62, but your benefits will be reduced each year you get a check before you reach your FRA.

To help ensure that Social Security replaces a larger share of earnings for lower-income workers, the formula applies different percentages to portions of your income, known as “bend points.”

The payout you receive is then adjusted based on the age when you start claiming benefits:

• Claiming at FRA: You receive 100% of your calculated PIA.
• Claiming early (62 to FRA): Your benefits are reduced for each month you claim before your FRA.
• Delaying until after FRA: You earn credits that increase your monthly check by a percentage (about 8% per year) for each month you wait past your FRA, up to age 70.

The Social Security Administration has several calculators that can provide estimates of your monthly benefits. The Quick Calculator gives estimates for three different retirement ages, in today’s dollars or inflated for future dollars. You only need to input your date of birth, current annual income and projected retirement date.

If you know what you’ve earned each year you’ve worked, you can get a more accurate estimate using this online calculator.

Social Security is designed to replace only about 40% of pre-retirement earnings, making other income sources an important part of a retirement plans

1. Retirement accounts

Nearly three-quarters of private-sector workers have access to employer-provided retirement benefits, typically a 401(k) account. If you’re among them, try to contribute at least enough to earn your full employer match, if one is offered.

An individual retirement account (IRA) isn’t tied to your workplace, so you can continue contributing as long as you have eligible earned income and meet IRS contribution rules. Wealthfront is a popular robo-advisor that offers both traditional and Roth IRAs with automated index investing, so you can be totally hands-off.

2. Annuities

As older Americans worry about outliving their savings, the popularity of annuities has soared in recent years. You can fund an annuity with a lump sum or through a series of payments and the money grows either at a fixed or variable rate, or tied to a market index like the S&P 500, with limits on gains and losses.

An annuity can pay out every month, every quarter or even every year. Payments can continue for a set term (like 15 or 20 years) or for the rest of your life.

Although the exact amount depends on your age, the insurer, current interest rates and the features you choose, a $300,000 lifetime annuity could pay $2,000 per month for someone retiring in their mid-60s,

Allianz Life offers both fixed and registered index-linked annuities (RILA) up to age 85.

3. Investments

You can supplement your Social Security with dividend income, interest from bonds and CDs, rental properties, and other investments. Vanguard is a popular choice for long-term investors thanks to its low-cost index funds, retirement planning tools and broad lineup of mutual funds and ETFs, including target-date retirement funds.

4. Reverse mortgage

If you have substantial equity in your home, you may be a good candidate for a reverse mortgage. A lender provides you with a lump sum, a series of payments, or a line of credit, and as long as you live in the home and continue with upkeep, you won’t have to make any payments. The principal, interest and fees are due in full when you sell the house, stop using it as your primary residence or pass away.

A traditional Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), backed by the FHA, is available to homeowners 62 and older, but private lenders offer reverse mortgages to borrowers as young as 55.

Longbridge Financial has competitive rates and doesn’t charge a service fee, which can be as much as $35 a month with other lenders. Another popular option, Guild was highly rated for customer satisfaction by J.D. Power and offers both jumbo reverse mortgages and reverse mortgage refinancing.

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