Social Security (Part 2): What You Need to Know While You Are Working
Your Social Security Number
Your link with Social Security is your Social Security number. You will need it to get a job and to pay taxes. The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) uses your Social Security number to track your earnings while you are working and to track your benefits after you are getting Social Security.
Do not carry your Social Security card unless you need to show it to your employer. You should be careful about giving someone your Social Security number. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes today. Most of the time identity thieves use your Social Security number and your good credit to apply for more credit in your name. Then they use the credit cards to buy things for themselves and they do not pay the bills.
Your Social Security number and SSA records are confidential. If someone else asks the SSA for information they have about you, they will not give any information without your written consent, unless the law requires or permits it.
Contact the SSA if you need a Social Security number, if you lose your card and need another one, or if you need to change your name on your current card. They will ask you to fill out a simple one-page form and ask to see certain documents. They need to see originals or copies certified by the issuing office. The SSA cannot accept photocopies or notarized copies of documents.
To get a Social Security number or a replacement card, you must prove your U.S. citizenship or immigration status, age, and identity. For a replacement card, proof of your U.S. citizenship and age are not required if they are already in SSA's records. Only certain documents can be accepted as proof of U.S. citizenship. These include your U.S. birth certificate, U.S. passport, U.S. consular report of birth, Certificate of Naturalization, or Certificate of Citizenship. If you are not a U.S. citizen, different rules apply for proving your immigration status. Acceptable proofs of identity include current documents showing your name; identifying information; and preferably, a recent photograph, such as a driver's license; a state-issued, nondriver identification card; or a U.S. passport.
To apply for a change of name on your Social Security card, you must show a recently issued document that proves your name has been legally changed.
Be sure to safeguard your Social Security card. You are limited to three replacement cards in a year and 10 during your lifetime. Legal name changes and other exceptions do not count toward these limits. For example, changes in noncitizen status that require card updates may not count toward these limits. Also, you may not be affected by these limits if you can prove you need the card to prevent a significant hardship.
For more information, visit http://www.socialsecurity.gov/. All of the card services provided by the SSA are free.
How You Become Eligible for Social Security
As you work and pay taxes, you earn Social Security "credits." In 2010, you earn one credit for each $1,120 in earnings—up to a maximum of four credits per year. (The amount of money needed to earn one credit goes up every year.)
Most people need 40 credits (10 years of work) to qualify for benefits. Younger people need fewer credits to be eligible for disability benefits or for family members to be eligible for survivors benefits when the worker dies.
U.S. Social Security Administration. (Updated 2014, January). In Understanding the benefits (SSA Publication No. 05-10024). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.socialsecurity.gov/