Law Offices of Lisa Douglas

  While many Americans can get social security, there are still some workers in the country who can’t qualify for the social security benefits  when they retire. It’s important to know if you’ll be eligible for the retirement benefits to make sure you’re financially prepared to cover your expenses when you no longer work. If not, you may need to consider other ways to secure your future. Let’s look at some common categories of American workers who may not qualify for social security. Insufficient Social Security Credits You can’t get social security if you haven’t worked enough! According to the SSA, you need to earn at least 40 social security credits to become eligible for the benefits. As of 2022, you need to earn $1,510  to get one social security credit. You can’t get more than four credits in a year, which implies that you need to work for at least 10 years to earn 40 social security credits. American Workers Who Die Before Turning 62 The minimum age to start gettin...

If you work for an employer  and pay into social security, your employer may cut the social security taxes from your salary and send them to the IRS to report your wages. For 2022, the Social and Medicare tax rate  for self-employed people is 6.2% and 1.45%, respectively. If, however, you’re self-employed, you need to directly report your earnings to the IRS and pay your social security taxes yourself. The amount of taxes a person pays helps the SSA determine their eligibility for social security benefits when they apply. How Does it Work for the Self-Employed? If a person operates a business, profession, or trade independently or as a partner, they’re self-employed. Since self-employed people typically don’t regularly get their paychecks, they’re required to pay social security taxes when filing their annual federal income tax returns. What the Self-Employment Tax Entails Self-Employment Tax or IRS Schedule SE is when a person reports their business’s  Schedule C net lo...