8 Reasons You Might Not Get Social Security

For many American workers, Social Security benefits are the golden carrot awaiting them at the end of a long career.

While you can begin to take some of your Social Security benefits starting at age 62, you continue to receive a greater amount every year you delay taking the benefits, up to age 70, according to the Social Security Administration.

But this assumes you have earned enough credits to receive these benefits at all. Not every worker gets to look forward to these benefits, and it’s better to know in advance so you can either rectify the situation or make other financial plans for retirement.

There are a handful of cases where a worker may not have earned Social Security. Here are eight reasons you might miss out.

In order to pay your way into the Social Security system, you have to earn “credits” through working that enable you to qualify for these benefits, which kick in at retirement, according to the American Association of Retired People (AARP).

In 2024, you earned one credit for every $1,730 in wages or self-employment income that you earn. The most you can earn in a year is four credits, according to the Social Security Administration. Every person needs 40 credits total to qualify for Social Security benefits of any kind.

So, if you haven’t worked enough to earn all 40 credits, you may not qualify for these benefits.

While the government generally takes care of its employees, there are some state, county and municipal exceptions for employees who do not receive Social Security benefits.

Instead, these employees pay into, and receive, state-funded pension plans. These include:

• U.S. government employees hired before 1984 — they receive pensions under the old Civil Service Retirement System
• Railroad employees — their pension system originates from the 1930s
• Most safety personnel/first responders such as police and firefighters
• Many K-12 teachers

Many self-employed business owners may not realize that you are now responsible for paying directly into Social Security twice over: once as an individual and once on behalf of your business. Self-employment tax must be paid along with your federal tax return.

If you either do not file a tax return, or do it incorrectly, you may not have enough Social Security credits to receive benefits when you retire (and, if you continually do not pay these taxes, you can get into legal trouble).

Early claimers who are still working have to pass the Social Security earnings test in order to qualify for benefits. There is no such test once you reach full retirement age.

In 2024, the SSA withheld $1 for every $2 in earnings over $22,320 and $1 for every $3 in earnings over $59,520.

It’s hard for private lenders to snatch your Social Security payments, but your benefits can be garnished to satisfy certain kinds of other debts. Among them are alimony, child support and restitution, but the states determine what constitutes a valid order for garnishment.

If your benefits have been garnished for any of these reasons, contact the appropriate state agency, not the SSA. 

If you guessed that tax debt is one of the other exceptions, you would be correct. The Department of the Treasury can garnish up to 15% of your Social Security benefits every month until your tax debt is paid.

The Treasury Department can also garnish your benefits for nontax debt, including any federal student loans you might have defaulted on.

If you are divorced, didn’t earn enough credits to receive Social Security benefits on your own and are counting on getting half of your ex-spouse’s benefits, be careful.

You have to be single, 62 years old or older and have made less money and benefits than your ex-spouse. Also, if you were married fewer than 10 years, or have not been divorced for a full two years or more, you are not eligible to claim your spouse’s benefits.

If you retire outside of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands or American Samoa, you may not be able to receive Social Security payments.

The countries where the U.S. will not send payments include Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, North Korea, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan.

There may be exceptions, but you will need to check with the Social Security Administration’s “Payments Abroad Screening Tool” to determine your eligibility to receive payments while living outside the U.S.

Immigrants who came to the United States later in life and have not been able to earn the 40 necessary work credits to qualify for Social Security benefits will not be able to receive these funds at retirement.

There is one solution, however, which is to earn six work credits in the United States, which will entitle the person to prorated U.S. benefits. That can be combined with prorated benefits from their former country, which is known as a “totalization agreement.”

Brooke Barley contributed to the reporting for this article.