You can check your Social Security credits on your Social Security account online, by phone, or by mail

Your Social Security credits are the work record that determines whether you can receive retirement, disability, or survivor benefits. You earn one credit for each quarter (three-month period) you work and pay Social Security taxes, up to a maximum of four credits per year. The number of credits you need depends on the type of benefit you are seeking — but you cannot find out whether you have enough without first knowing how many you have accumulated so far.

The fastest way to see your credits is to create a my Social Security account at ssa.gov. Once you log in, your "Earnings Record" page shows exactly how many credits you have earned in each year, and your total. If you do not want to create an online account, you can call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) and ask for a benefits estimate, which includes your credit count. You can also request a paper copy by mail, though this takes longer.

Key Takeaways

  • You earn one Social Security credit per quarter of work where you paid Social Security taxes, with a maximum of four credits per year.
  • The my Social Security online account shows your exact credit count and your year-by-year earnings record.
  • Retirement benefits typically require 40 credits (10 years of work), while disability and survivor benefits may require fewer depending on your age.
  • If you see missing or incorrect credits on your record, you can request a correction by submitting tax documents or W-2s to Social Security.
  • Your credits do not expire — once earned, they remain on your record permanently.

What your earnings record shows about your credits

When you view your earnings record through my Social Security, you will see a year-by-year breakdown of how much you earned and how many credits you received each year. The record goes back to 1951 or to the year you turned 21, whichever is later. Each year shows the wages Social Security recorded and the number of credits you earned that year (usually between zero and four).

The earnings record also flags any years where you earned wages but received no credits — this sometimes happens if you were self-employed and did not pay self-employment tax, or if your employer did not report your wages to Social Security. If you spot gaps or years with fewer credits than you expected, those are the years worth investigating. You have a limited window to correct errors, so catching them early matters.

How many credits you need for different types of benefits

The number of credits required varies by the benefit type. For retirement benefits, you need 40 credits total — this is roughly 10 years of full-time work. For disability benefits, the requirement is lower and depends on your age when you become disabled. If you become disabled before age 24, you may need as few as 6 credits earned in the three years before your disability began. If you are between 24 and 31, you typically need credits for half the time between age 21 and when you became disabled. At 31 and older, you generally need 20 credits earned in the 10 years before disability.

Survivor benefits for your family members also depend on your total credits at the time of your death. Generally, you need 40 credits, though some survivor benefits (like those for a widow or widower at full retirement age) may be payable with fewer credits if you had worked recently.

If you are close to but not quite at the number of credits you need, knowing your exact count tells you whether you need to work longer or whether you already may have access to.

Correcting errors on your Social Security record

If your earnings record shows missing credits or years with lower earnings than you actually made, you can request a correction. Social Security will investigate if you provide documentation — typically a W-2, tax return, or pay stub from the year in question. Self-employed workers can submit Schedule C from their tax return or other proof of self-employment income.

You should report errors as soon as you notice them. Social Security generally has a three-year, three-month, and 15-day window to correct wage records, though some corrections can be made outside that window if you have strong evidence. If you wait until you are ready to claim benefits, you may lose the chance to add credits that should have been on your record.

To request a correction, contact Social Security by phone at 1-800-772-1213, through your my Social Security account, or by visiting your local Social Security office in person. Bring the documents that prove your earnings for the year you are correcting.

What happens if you do not have enough credits yet

If you check your record and find you do not have enough credits to claim the benefit you want, you have options. The most straightforward is to continue working — each additional quarter of covered work adds one more credit to your record. You can work part-time or full-time; what matters is that you earn enough to trigger a credit for that quarter. In 2024, you need to earn $1,730 in a quarter to receive one credit, though this amount changes yearly.

If you are close to retirement age and do not have 40 credits, working even a few more years can get you there. If you are seeking disability benefits and do not have enough credits, you may still be able to claim other benefits — for example, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is not based on work credits at all, though it has its own income and asset limits.

Checking your record before you claim benefits

It is worth reviewing your Social Security record at least once every few years, and especially before you plan to claim any benefit. Errors are not common, but they do happen — an employer may have misreported your name or Social Security number, or wages may have been credited to the wrong year. Catching these mistakes before you claim means your benefit amount will be calculated correctly from the start.

If you are within a year or two of claiming retirement benefits, pull your record and verify that all your work years are there and that the earnings amounts look right. If you are applying for disability, do the same — your benefit amount depends on your earnings record, so accuracy matters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Social Security credits expire or go away if I do not use them?

No. Once you earn a credit, it stays on your record permanently. You do not lose credits if you take time off work, change jobs, or wait to claim benefits. Credits do not have an expiration date.

Can I see my credits if I have never worked?

If you have never worked or paid Social Security taxes, your earnings record will show zero credits. You may still be able to claim benefits based on a spouse's or ex-spouse's record, or you may be able to claim Supplemental Security Income if you meet the income and asset limits.

What if I worked in another country — do those credits count?

Work in other countries generally does not count toward U.S. Social Security credits unless there is a totalization agreement between the United States and that country. Social Security has agreements with about 30 countries. If you worked abroad, contact Social Security to ask whether your work can be credited.

How often should I check my Social Security record?

Social Security recommends checking your record at least once every three years to catch errors early. If you are self-employed or have had multiple jobs in a year, checking annually is a good idea. Always check before you claim any benefit.

If I see credits I do not recognize, what should I do?

Contact Social Security right away. Fraudulent credits are rare, but if someone used your Social Security number to work, those wages would appear on your record. Social Security can investigate and remove fraudulent entries if you report them promptly.