By Samuel Gonzalez
Many people believe that to receive Social Security benefits in the United States it is mandatory to have worked for years and accumulated sufficient contributions. Although this is the rule for most beneficiaries, There are some exceptions that allow certain people to access these payments even if they have never had a job. or they were unable to meet the work requirements demanded by the system.
At the moment, About 71 million people receive Social Security benefits. The majority corresponds to retirees who contributed to the program during their working lives, but there are also benefits for people with disabilities and for family members of workers who contributed to the system.
To access retirement benefits, a person generally must accumulate work credits. These credits are earned through work and paying Social Security taxes. Each year it is possible to obtain up to four credits, although the amount of income required to obtain them increases periodically. In most cases, 40 credits are required to apply for retirement benefits, which is approximately equivalent to ten years of work.
Disability benefits also depend on work historyalthough the number of credits required varies depending on the age at which the person became unable to work. Depending on each situation, between six and 20 credits may be required.
However, not having worked does not automatically mean being excluded from the system. One of the main exceptions is survivor benefits. These payments are intended for family members of deceased workers who contributed to Social Security or who were already receiving benefits at the time of their death. In certain circumstances, A surviving spouse or certain dependents may receive financial assistance even if they do not have a work history of their own..
There are also so-called family benefits, in which The Social Security Administration (SSA) may provide benefits to the spouse or children of a person receiving retirement or disability payments. In these cases, eligibility is based on the work history of the predominant worker and not necessarily that of the family members receiving the benefit.
The importance of these programs is reflected in the most recent figures. During 2024, About 11% of all Social Security benefits went to relatives of deceased workers. This represented approximately six million beneficiaries and payments of approximately $8.9 billion. Additionally, about 3.7 million dependents of retired or disabled workers received family benefits totaling $2.9 billion.
Therefore, if a person has never worked or you consider that you did not accumulate enough work credits, You may still have options to receive benefits. It is clear that this will depend on the employee’s work history and Social Security tax payment history.
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