Ask Rusty – Help! SSA Says I’m Not Eligible for Benefits
Dear Rusty: Help!! The Social Security Administration says I didn’t pay enough into my Social Security account, despite being a business owner and paying taxes. What can I do?” Signed: Self-employed American
Dear Self-employed: For all potential SS beneficiaries, it is very important to know how Social Security determines if you are eligible for retirement benefits: Everyone (including the self-employed) must have earned at least 40 “quarter credits” contributing to the SS program, which is usually about 10 years’ worth of earnings.
You can earn up to four “quarter credits” per year, depending on your earnings, including your net earnings from self-employment. For example, this year (2026) you will get one “quarter credit” for each $1,890 of earnings, up to four credits maximum for the year. As a self-employed business owner, only your net earnings are counted (e.g., after all your reported business deductions are taken). The SSA gets your earnings information from the IRS, so SSA goes by whatever information you submitted in the self-employment income tax returns you submitted to the IRS over the years. If you don’t have at least 40 “quarter credits” over your lifetime, you won’t be eligible for Social Security retirement benefits.
The best way to further investigate this is to create your personal “my Social Security” online account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. When you have done that, you will be able to see how many quarter credits you currently have (apparently less than 40) and determine how much more you must earn to be eligible for SS retirement benefits. For example, if you have 36 or more credits now, you could likely work just another year, or part of a year, to be eligible for SS benefits next year. Knowing how many “credits” you now have will tell you how much more in annual net earnings from self-employment you must have to become eligible for SS benefits.
When you create you online SS account, you will also be able to see your entire lifetime record of your earnings reported to Social Security, and you should review that record to make sure that your lifetime earnings have been correctly reported to Social Security. If there are any discrepancies in your lifetime earnings record, they can be corrected by using form SSA-7008. You can find additional guidance on this at the following SSA web address www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10081.pdf
This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (amacfoundation.org/programs/social-security-advisory) or email us at ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org).
