09/16/2019
The social security payments that you receive are based on your earnings history. Social Security computes your retirement payment from your 35 best years of work (after adjusting for inflation). The 35 years don't have to be consecutive nor recent ones. If you don't have 35 years of covered earnings (remember - 10 years is all you need to be eligible), Social Security will still use 35 years, but they'll include the "zero years" in their calculations. So, if you have fewer than 35 work years, working a little longer can make huge difference in your lifetime benefits!