How Can You Get Approved to Get Social Security Benefits ?

Social Security includes retirement, disability or survivor benefits. Each kind of benefits has different requirements for eligibility and application, but all require work history for qualification. Retirement benefits require work history and age; survivor benefits require work history of a deceased relative or spouse. Disability benefits require work history and disability. Qualification for benefits is a large part of the approval process.

Retirement

Approval for retirement benefits requires a minimum work history of 10 years or 40 credits. You must work and pay into the Social Security system to qualify for benefits. Social Security uses 35 years of work history to calculate benefits, and substitutes zeros if you have fewer years. Social Security early retirement is available at age 62. Full retirement is age 66 for people born before 1960 and 67 for those born after 1960. If you meet the work history and age requirements, you may apply for benefits online.

Survivor Benefits

If you are the unmarried spouse or child of a deceased worker who had sufficient work history to qualify for Social Security benefits, you may qualify on the deceased worker's work history. A parent of a deceased worker may also qualify under some circumstances. A young worker can have as few as six work credits in the three years immediately prior to death. A child of a deceased worker under age 18 or 19 if in high school can qualify for survivor benefits; so can a spouse caring for a deceased worker's child under the age of 16. An unmarried spouse without deceased's child can collect survivor benefits as early as age 60, or 50 if disabled. A parent over the age of 62 who depended on the deceased worker for more than 50 percent of support can qualify for Social Security survivor benefits.

Disability

Social Security disability benefits require disability from performing substantial gainful activity. Substantial gainful activity in 2011 is earning more than $1,000 a month. Social Security does not consider a worker who earns this amount of income disabled under Social Security disability standards. The disabling condition must be severe and anticipated to last 12 months or more. Disability approval requires two parts -- application for Social Security and qualifying with the disability determination service. Social Security checks to see if you have the requisite work history before forwarding your application and medical information to the disability determination service. Once the disability determination service makes a decision, it returns the claim to Social Security.

Approval

Approval for any of the three sections of Social Security benefits requires qualification, application and a delay. You can apply online, but you need to assemble some information before you start. The website is secure and saves your information for another session if you need. You need your Social Security number, dates of the most recent employment tied to the work history and other information relating to your claim. If you have a Social Security statement from a previous year, it will provide some of the information you might need. Once you apply for benefits, Social Security notifies you if it needs additional documentation for your claim. When the Social Security Administration approves your claim, you receive a notice when benefits will start. If it denies your claim, you receive appeal information.

References

• Social Security Administration; How You Earn Credits; January 2011
• Social Security Administration; Retirement Benefits; January 2010
• Social Security Administration; How To Apply Online for Retirement Benefits; March 2011
• Social Security Administration; Apply Online For Disability Benefits; May 2011
• Social Security Administration: If You Aren't Getting Social Security Benefits