Mistake No. 2: Not working for the right amount of time
As you well know, in order to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits, you need to have at least 40 work credits. Each year, based on your earnings, you can get up to four credits. For example, for 2019, you had to earn $1,360 to get one credit or $5,440 to get the maximum of four credits.
Plus, your benefits are calculated depending on the average of your 35 highest-earning years. If you have fewer than 35 years in the working field, $0 will be averaged for each year you didn’t have any earnings. Find out next which mistakes you’ve never even considered could matter: