What Happens If You Don’t Have 40 Social Security Credits?
Without 40 Social Security credits, about 10 years of work, you can’t get a retirement benefit on your own record, and Social Security can’t pay a partial one for the credits you have. But you aren’t locked out. You can earn the missing credits at any age, including after 62; you may qualify on a spouse’s, former spouse’s or late spouse’s record; you can still get Medicare at 65, paying a premium for Part A if no one in your household has 40 credits; and if your income and savings are low, you may qualify for SSI.
How far you are from 40
You earn one credit for each $1,890 of covered earnings in 2026, or $1,970 in 2027, up to four credits a year. The credits come from your earnings for the whole year, so four credits take $7,560 in 2026 ($7,880 in 2027), whether you earn it in one month or twelve. Your my Social Security account shows your total, and you can count your credits year by year to see when you’ll reach 40.
Credits never expire, and there’s no deadline to finish. Someone with 36 credits from work in their 20s needs only one more year with $7,560 of earnings, at 64 or at 70.
Earning the last credits
Any job where Social Security tax is withheld counts, part time or full time, at any age. One credit in 2026 takes $1,890 of earnings for the year.
Self-employment counts too, with two rules. You pay Social Security tax only when your net self-employment earnings for the year are $400 or more, so smaller side income earns nothing. And credits are based on net profit after expenses, not on what customers pay you, so you need at least $1,890 of profit for one credit. Report it on Schedule SE with your tax return; cash income that never reaches a tax return never reaches your record.
Work that doesn’t pay into Social Security doesn’t help. That includes many teaching and state or local government jobs covered by a public pension instead. If you take a second job to finish your credits, make sure Social Security tax is withheld from it.
Once you reach 40, apply. Your current-year earnings may not be on your record yet, so Social Security may ask for pay stubs or a W-2 to count them.
How much 10 years of work pays
The credits only decide whether you qualify. The amount comes from your highest 35 years of wage-indexed earnings, divided by 420 months, with zeros filling the missing years. The benefit formula then replaces 90% of the first $1,286 of that monthly average for people turning 62 in 2026, 32% of the amount up to $7,749 and 15% above it. Because the first slice is replaced at 90%, a short career gets a smaller check but a higher share of what it earned:
| Work history, in today’s dollars | Average monthly earnings | Full benefit at 67 | At 62 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 years at $30,000 | $714 | $642.60 | $449 |
| 10 years at $50,000 | $1,190 | $1,071 | $749 |
| 35 years at $50,000 | $4,166 | $2,079 | $1,455 |
Swipe sideways to see the full table →
Ten years at $50,000 pays about half of what 35 years at the same salary pays, not 10/35 of it. These are estimates before cost-of-living increases. Even a small benefit is a lifetime, inflation-adjusted check, and a pension from work that didn’t pay into Social Security no longer reduces it: the Windfall Elimination Provision ended for benefits payable from January 2024.
Benefits on someone else’s record
Your own credits don’t matter for benefits paid on another person’s work. You may qualify if:
- You’re married, your spouse gets retirement or disability benefits, and you’ve been married at least a year. A spousal benefit is up to 50% of your spouse’s full benefit.
- You were married at least 10 years, you’re divorced and unmarried, and you’re 62 or older. A divorced spouse benefit doesn’t need your ex-spouse to have applied, if you’ve been divorced at least two years.
- Your spouse or former spouse has died. A widow or widower can get 71.5% to 100% of the late spouse’s benefit, starting at 60.
If you later earn 40 credits yourself, you get whichever is higher, not both added together.
Medicare without 40 credits
You can get Medicare at 65 even without credits, as long as you’re a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident who has lived in the country for the past five years. Part B is open to you on the same terms as everyone else. Part A is premium-free if you or your spouse has 40 quarters of Medicare-covered work; you can use a current spouse’s record after a year of marriage, or a former or late spouse’s record after a 10-year marriage. Otherwise you can buy Part A:
| Medicare-covered quarters (yours or a spouse’s) | Part A premium, 2026 |
|---|---|
| 40 or more | $0 |
| 30 to 39 | $311 a month |
| Fewer than 30 | $565 a month |
Swipe sideways to see the full table →
These are the 2026 premiums; the 2027 amounts are announced each fall. To buy Part A you must also enroll in Part B. If you don’t buy Part A when you’re first eligible, the premium goes up 10% for twice as many years as you went without it.
Medicare quarters can come from work that never earned Social Security credits. State and local government employees hired after March 31, 1986 generally pay Medicare tax even when they don’t pay Social Security tax, and that government work counts toward Part A on its own or combined with Social Security work. A retired teacher with 20 years in a school system that withheld Medicare tax may already have premium-free Part A.
Work in another country
If you also worked in one of the 31 countries with a U.S. Social Security agreement, such as Canada, Germany, Japan, Korea or the United Kingdom, your credits there can count toward the 40. You need at least six U.S. credits, and the U.S. benefit is prorated to reflect only your U.S. work. The agreements don’t apply to Medicare, so foreign work doesn’t count toward premium-free Part A.
SSI if your income is low
Supplemental Security Income doesn’t depend on work credits. People 65 or older, blind or disabled can get it if their income and savings are low enough: the federal payment is up to $994 a month in 2026 and $1,029 in 2027, reduced by countable income, and countable savings must stay under $2,000 for one person. SSI can be paid alongside a small Social Security benefit, and in most states it comes with Medicaid.
Disability and survivor benefits need fewer credits
The 40-credit rule is for retirement. Disability benefits need fewer credits at younger ages: as few as six credits in the three years before a disability that starts before 24, and 20 credits in the last 10 years from age 31, with the credits needed by age rising in between. For survivor benefits, nobody needs more than 40, and a worker’s children and a spouse caring for them can be paid if the worker had just six credits in the three years before death.