New Statement Fact Sheet for People with Limited Earnings
Reading Time: 1 MinuteLast Updated: November 2, 2023
If you have a personal my Social Security account, you can view your Social Security Statement online to learn about your future benefits and recent earnings history. The Statement also includes fact sheets that provide helpful information based on your age group and earnings situation. We recently released a new fact sheet specifically for people with limited earnings.
You can access your Statement and the new fact sheet using your personal my Social Security account. The new fact sheet covers how you and your family members may qualify for benefits, including:
- Supplemental Security Income.
- Social Security retirement benefits.
- Benefits for children.
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
- Help with health care costs – including Medicare, Medicare Savings Programs, Extra Help with Medicare prescription drug costs, and Medicaid.
We’re committed to helping you learn about all your benefit options. Our Benefits Eligibility Screening Tool is a convenient way to find potential benefits that best fit your situation.
To learn more, visit our Social Security Statement webpage. Please share this article with your friends and family – and post it on social media.
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Tags: Disability, Medicare, my Social Security, my Social Security account, retirement, retirement benefits, Social Security benefits, social security disability benefits, Social Security statement, SSI
See CommentsAbout the Author
Dawn Bystry, Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications
Deputy Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications
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Steve
I’m going to be 62 next year, do I have to wait u til I’m 70 to start my social security. How can I tell how much I will get each month
Gene G.
I was married for 8 years but my wife and I were together for another six years before that. Anyway to add some of our domestic partner years to our legal marriage yeas to get over the 10 year thresh hold to claim her benefits? She is willing to help.
A.C.
Hi, Gene. Unfortunately, your question is a bit more complex than we can answer in this forum. For your security, we do not have access to private information in this venue. We ask that members in our Blog community work with our offices with specific questions. You can call us at 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., for assistance. You can also contact your local Social Security office. We hope this helps.
Greg A.
You can collect at 62 but you receive less monthly. The other negative for collecting early is you are limited in how much you can earn. If you earn above that limit ssa reduces your benefit to compensate for the overage. Your full retirement age is 67 not 70. You do receive additional monthly benefit for each year that you wait.
A.C.
Hi, Steve. Thanks for your questions. The earliest age you can get retirement benefits is 62, but you can wait. If you choose to get benefits before your full retirement age, they will be reduced. You can create a personal my Social Security account to review estimates of your retirement, disability, and survivors benefits, your earnings record, and the estimated Social Security and Medicare taxes you’ve paid. We hope this helps.
christi F.
what is the best way for an 80+ yr old widow to proceed to make sure all benifits are right. NO INTERNET capibility
angie t.
I just saw in the newspaper section they will be helping ppl starting on 4-17-22 .
A.C.
Hi, Cristii. Thanks for visiting our blog. The widow can contact their local Social Security office for assistance. We hope this helps.
MarkB
I believe that those in power would find it very difficult to live on SS retirement income. Even worse to live on SSI, near impossible!
Delois D.
Five years ago, at the age of 62, I broke my leg and ankle in three places. When I applied for disability I was denied. To this day I still suffer severely from this brake. I was told by an SSA case manager that if I were a young illegal alien with no work skills I would have been approved. Please tell me why!
Tony
Illegal immigrants can apply for SSI who are not subject to deportation. Since they cannot speak English and don’t live in Puerto Rico, the SSA medical/vocational rules grants them disability because they don’t speak English.
Sherry
unbelievable.
Susan
Dear Mr President Biden
I am trying to figure out how a person on SSI is suppose to live . I didnt ask to be the way I am God gave me DDD Scolious mental nine inch
nail threw my right eye rapaid cyst that grow fast 52 surgeries and I fall and break bones last year I had three Surgeries and have two this year.
My life has been in and out a hospital for years . I have wrote you alot I know but I am not sure where else to go with this.’
You give immigants FREE rent FREE electric ( I cant even afford heat this winter I didnt use one drop of heat and MY bill was still over
100.00 . You dont give us born and raised on USA soil a chance to live . Find a place under 841.00 a month none I was on Section 8 housing I am
paying less for this house then for SECTION 8 . why would i go backwards. why would anyone,
I got denied two times for Spousal benefits I lost my husband on 2/2/21 due to three drs killing him and NOT A ONE LAWYER 818 WOULD TOUCH THE CASE!!!!
Yes they kill people and we have no day in court Norfolk General in NORFOLK VIRGINIA .
I have sat here and cried screamed and yet I am just trying to afford bills . people on SSI can NOT survive I cant afford Toliet Paper much less
go to my appts oh the bus cost 10,00 one way if I had 10.00 i can afford to put gas in my car in which I cant . but yet I am reading how people are
trying to live. I am a 52 year old widow with a diease that there is NO cure, If I fall I break a bone. I tried to go back to work I fell and dangered my left
leg had surgery for the 6 time in September. had 2 hand surgeries my bone came threw the skin , But yet I am still here .
ON this SSI 841,00 a month and cant even collect off my decreased husband social security I have a hearing third one in over a year and lets say
I had to get a lawyer.
WAS TOLD BY the employer that he couldnt let me come back cause I was a LIABILTY and since you have had this DIEASE and if you get Hurt on
this JOB or Any Job WORKMANS COMP will not take your case cause of it and I checked in to this ITS true.
So how is one like me and many others suppose to live if your a LIABILTY to a company ? I didnt ask for any of this MY husband Made sure I was taking
care of just like you take care of Mrs Biden I have NO one only me . Been on my own since I was 16 years old .
The red tape with Social Security is you NEVER GET the same Answer twice .
And I deserve spousal benefits I was there threw out his life known him since he was 16 yrs old I was 17 yrs old. I was there
for his CHemo radiation changing bandages sickness cleaning out the trache and bathing him where was a nurse all she did was come in watch tv
take blood pressure that was IT . I never got a break driving from Perquimans County Nc to Norfolk Va or from Perquimans County to Elizabeth City nc.
Not including hospital stays driving back home then from Colerain Nc to Greenville medical center each day. NO help with gas or food etc but we had
Stephen Holland Brooks SSDI which helped alot and I mean 2 xs what I am getting NOW . I didnt leave my house from DEC 2021 till I fell on FEB 27 2022.
NO GAS to go see anyone NO gas to go to store I use my food stamps on walmart and amazon .com No fresh veggies fruits or meat no milk cheese etc
Just expensive stuff i get 214.00 in food stamps and we dont have door dash in our area so no fast food and I cant afford that so its OKAY .
Would love a baconactor from Wendys my husband use to buy me one after my appts but thats long and gone .
plus I dont understand a few things If a paretn leaves you a life insurance policy you inherit it if your on SSI they suspend your benefits that makes NO
sense to any of us on the Widowers/widow website I am on we lost our world and we cant life without some kind of help but we get
and SOCIAL SECURITY takes and pentizles us cause we get a little bit of inherits . If we would of worked got our 40 credits and paid in we be okay
but some arent as healthy or gifted to have that option we have to live off what ever the state/country gives us, which isnt much to live off of.
How about join us on this JOURNEY we deal with dr appts surgeries no life outside and NO money to enjoy going with the normal to a place to
sit and just talk cause 841 .00 is all you get to live off of. Have you looked at how much things have gone up FOOD GAS toilet paper
Why is there so MANY living on the streets theres NO affordable housing for someone on SSI look how they jacked up prices of houses and cars
and rent . We were born on USA SOIL and just cause we have medical needs we are treated as if we have a deadly diease LIKE COVID AND NO
One wants to be around US. How about a friend ask you can you go to wendys and just get a HAMBURGER and DRINK yes a happy meal
and you cant enjoy someones company cause you cant AFFORD not even a 3.49 happy meal and you live alone you cant go to widow/widowers
group to talk to people that are deal with the lost of their spouses you dont understand you still have your wife MRS BIDEN .I dont have
my spouse in heaven form my husband is in heaven with wings How about that widow widowers words OMG I would love for those words to
disappear of paperwork it sets me off . I didnt divorce my husband we both wasnt estranged from one another we both were HAPPY we never had one
agure ment EVER . But I get treated as if I was NEVER MARRIED like I dont deserve anything . If I wasnt 52 i was 60 I could collect but yet I was told
NO you cant by AHOSKIE NC SOCIAL SECURITY . I have been on SSI since 2001 it says if you were on SSI 7 years prior to your spouses death
you can collect off his benefits NEVER HAPPENED that was 2/2/21 he passed its 4/29/22 and NO ONE IN THAT office is on same player book I will
say that you can ask one question one day two days later you ask same question and get a different answer . ITS A HEADACHE. and most will
say same thing. and you have to be married 18 months to collect married Stephen 7/14/2019 .
The thing is NO matter how OLD someone is when their spouses pass or how long they were married 1 week 1 year 10 years 50 years 100 years
we should be able to collect something off OUR decreased benefits my husband worked from the time he was 16 years old at Be – Lo in Portsmouth Va
and worked a print shop Liskeys In Norfolk Va in which they print alot of Govenment stuff . and had way over 40 credits he made sure I was taking care
of and yet he sees me cry all the time cause I am losing my battle last few things he wrote was WHAT ABOUT OUR HOUSE and please take care
of you and what that means I have been clean off drugs and alchol since November 19 2006 and lets say my depression is there I want to
drink my self into a place I dont have to worry about all that is being done to me .
The state the country has NOT helped us on SSI when you give a increase heck everything goes HIGHer then we on SSI can afford .
heck toilet paper walmart brand 16.98 i was paying 9.98 big jump i must say . BUt who cares whether I hAVE SOAP TO CLEAN MY SELF or TP to wipe my butt
or heat to stay warm or ac to stay cool in summer . But I bet your warm and cozy and cool in the white house heat blazing. I couldnt afford
heat thats why I fell on Feb 27 it was 13 degrees inside my house and the funds for ileap was out for 65 years and older I am only 52 years old.
But NO one cares I think people would rather see US dead cause we are just taking up space on earth in honesty. Cause we are way and I mean way below
poverty level COULD YOU AND YOUR WIFE LIVE ON 841.00 a month thats a question most that get SSI ask . I said probably know cause they never had
. My case is in Raleigh Nc I have to senators Tilley and Burr who have seen my case Gov Cooper wont even aknowledge I am a human . I just wish there
was some way like a judge gives you a place and let yall live like we are a judge who has these SLUM LORDS can make them live in their own
place and see how we live and give them 841,00 and pay rent bills etc and see how much they survive and save etc, How about maintance
if waterheater goes out or you need to get tires for you car but heck it wont past inspection if not so the car sits and gets rusted and cant fix it. so you just
junk it .
LIFE has giving me alot of curves in my life DDD and SCOLIOUS anxiety depression etc etc etc . But who really cares NOT ONE IN THAT CAPITAL
BUILDING or WHITE HOUSE .
I just want my spousal benefits and I will stop complaining so much this is all I have left is this house that we brought together.
IF I LOSE this house my depression will be in over drive and you might be seeing a obt of me but you wouldnt care why cause im not
famous im just a person trying to get my point across . Yes if I lose this house we got for 50,000 I owe 47,616 dollars You will not hear from me .
cause I was just a person trying to live and have things done and NOT one I have emailed will HELP NOT A ONE Im just a small 5 foot 1 in
3 1/2 size foot munchkin with what to prove cause NOT one person will aknowledge how we are tried with SSI . And as must say
If we speak no one hears us cause we are only a piece of paper our birth cert. and a number social security number thats all we are in this
world.
To many are saying that if president would of shut down the flights the boarders etc alot of men woman child would of be here today they died
cause the USA . saying that yall knew about the covid before it Hit USA but yall let this happened .Then you have the shot and boosters funny how in less
then a year a vaccaition was made but in life cancer is still killing with NO site of a cure in years centuries . But didnt take long for a covid
antidot . Thats what we as the USA residents are trying to figure out cancer is a high in money what we call a money pit funds from
cancer functions etc millions are giving to the cause but NOT one thing has been cured but Covid heck less then a year we got a
shot boosters pills and nothing for cancer .
How can you sit or sleep at night knowing right outside your window there is vets sleeping on park benches?
protected and serve and came home to nothing .?
How can you sit and eat those fancy meals knowing that people are straving ?
You wear those fancy suites I have had the same clothes for 6 years nothing new except shoes ?
How can you sit and just smile when someone like me is crying each day to figure out what the next day brings .?
How about each night a person prayers that God takes them cause the world cant help them .
How about a new born born to a single mom who cant afford day care to go back to work living on SSI .
How about the newborn cant be left at day care cause the baby is sick ?
How about a daughter / Son trying to take care of their parent and cant work cause the parent cant be left alone and they are living of
the parent/s ssdi retirement aint much for a family of four. ANd NO one trust nursing homes cause I will be the first to tell you
my grandfather was in one and got Septic cause they refused to roll him his skin was peeling off his back or the visions i have .
Or how about a wife or is taken care of her husband whos sick or husband who is taken care of his sick wife and cant go to work cause as your
wedding vows say thru sickness and health and we all widows and widowers did that but never got a penny of help and you lost their income and
yours cause you had to stay home.
No one cared no one helped if you take care of a sick person why cant we get a little help but nope that will never happen cant afford anything
when you have NO income .
But look at the INCOMES that the governors senators presidents etc get .
oh 841 x 12 how much are we getting to live off of . heck I heard their the news that the SSI MIGHT be going up but down fall
but with that going forward prices will still go up .
So where are we in poverty once .
But we on SSI cant have but 2,000.00 in our account and 3,000.00 if a couple who can save cant i just got my check today that 841,00 and
lets say by 10 am that paid MOST of my bills still SHORT 363.00 . So I have no gas money no fun money im stuck at home for another month,
I know you dont care I know as I see how the world does US. My book is on chapter 52 of life and God already wrote out my day to day
and he gave me all I have dealt with
rough draft
I was born without a dad
was adopted august 25 1975
frpm age 5 to 12 i was raped by my uncle
to easy my pain i started drinking at 15 starting using drugs at 14
I was beat by my x husband on a daily bases
had a few jobs only job i kept long enough was working with my dad
and a place called Footquarters top seller for the time i was there
lived in over 127 places threw out my life you want all the addresses i know them
never had a stable place till I made a decision
been in eastern state portsmouth pscho ward been in foster homes
never graduated was in learning disability cases cause as you can see i do not know where to put .!? and spell my teachers
just past me cause i showed up for class except in high school ,
I have had so many surgeries and bones broken a head injury as well
3 drunk drivers hit me at different times in my life I can say I never drank and got behind the wheel i would sleep in a car or behind a building
before I did that .
became a addict cause of the pain after surgeries and that what drs do you ask and they will write it.
BUt yet im still here I releave my life and I cry as it starts I finally have a safe heaven our home but if my spousal benefits dont kick in
i will lose my house etc cause no one can help pay anything due to how SSI does gifts MONEY is counted against you which how in heck
can you live and not lose your first home . But I know I am just one person there are many and I mean many .
I know only you and the congressman can change things I can write each day on this but when will I or we be heard on this .
CHANGE.Org Yes I have a petition going I have over 100 ppl so far I got a long way to go , But I know something has to change why
dot you get my case and look it over and see what I have been threw in my life and still going threw , Cause to me if you care about THEE
People born on USA and you want VOTES you look into help the ones below the POVERTY LEVEL those are the votes you really want ,
But the reason people like US dont vote is cause all you care about is what nothing that INTEREST the POVERTY people.
Help with fiances or change this SSI law where we can do things and not stuck in our houses and getting more depressed. I guess thats one way of
keeping the crazy disabled people away from going places .
you need VOTES we need HELP . and we cant give to your donations which i get 20 a day to donate to your campion well if i cant afford
toilet paper how am i suppose to help you win another elections .
HECK we all want something as the saying goes want in one hand and hope you get it in the other
ANd so far I pray each night and i really dont eat so i dont pray over food due to i cant go to a REAL grocery store .
I pray you can fix this and I know you can cause widow/widowers are losing their homes their spouses have created and Im on
that list MY hearing is JUNE 8 2022 @ 9 am and I am praying that this benefits go threw so I can get my roof fixed . and be able to go
see my 90 year old grandma in Virginia before something happens . I lived with her my younger years .
BUt you dont care its just a human who has lived on SSDI and has been giving hardly nothing from my grandfathers SOCIAL SECURITY
and he dropped out of school in 3 rd grade and worked his whole life to care for his step kids 6 and 4 of his own kids .
And my grandma only gets 1240.00 a month
Margaret
The future looks a bit dismal. Nothing like what I worked and earned to be able live like. Not sure what to do to achieve balance anymore. The cost of living is way out of control.
Lily
Lord, do I understand. I am receiving SS and I still have to work to make ends meet. As you’ve stated, the cost of living is out of control and the paltry 5.6% increase doesn’t even begin to cover anything. On top of that, Medicare went up so, of course, there went the COLA.
Wanda C.
All my earning is not on my Social Security. Social Security need to work with the IRS to make sure everyone is getting their benefits correctly. However because I am not. I want to know who can I talk to. If anyone know please reply, thanks it would be greatly appreciated.
James S.
I rarely earned more than my wife and when she passed I took survivor benefits to supplement my working income which kept shrinking as my work hours decreased when health became poorer. I was the spender that’s how I saved retirement funds and she was the saver that kept figuring out how to pay bills and reduced many of them. I reasoned there were two ways to make ends meet after she was gone either:
1. quit my job or go extreme part-time and rent rooms of my house for all my living expenses plus repair costs OR
2. sell the family house and downsize maybe live with a relative.
I choose #2 because of frequent illnesses but am still struggling to downsize as I board with the relative who will inherit all physical stuff and part of my intangible estate. I board and cover expenses that are not planned including extra food or eating out. So far the plan works but I have a plan B just in case I have to move out.
A.C.
Hi, James. We are sorry to hear about your loss and your situation. You may be eligible to receive social services from the state in which you live. These services include free meals, housekeeping help, transportation, or help with other problems. To get information about services in your area and find out if you qualify, you will need to contact your state or local social services or welfare office. We hope this helps.
Cindy
Indeed it is
Rebecca g.
I have looked into every social program as a disabled woman
at 56 a homeowner. and I don’t know how the government expects people to live I have paid taxes my entire life. I’ve worked since I was 8 years old at a paper route later at 13 at state sponsored jobs. How are we supposed to make ends meet there are no programs for disabled or senior citizens especially homowners. Unless of course I want to marm my mortgage record by skipping payments then I’ll be eligible for the homeowners fund other than that there is nothing! I am supposed to have a home care attendant to help with housework due to the fact I have cancer among the other medical conditions. I am Caucasian. Senior citizens in those disabled have been left out of most programs how tragic! Now that the pandemic EBT SNAP is ending I believe in Massachusetts my food stamps have been cut to $42 per month. I have spent my entire life savings on help to care for my home during my cancer treatment it’s really unfair! It’s like this whole group has been left out of the American care plan
Nancy M.
It’s too difficult to live on SS and I have a part time job to supplement it.. the 5.9 increase was not very helpful, especially since at the same time medicare went up as well- Not to mention housing continues to rise out of control. The government must lower the 30% it says one MUST pay for housing- especially low income seniors.. with this crazy skyrocketing inflation, any kind of hope for a calm future is gone
Teresa A.
I agree completely they are making it impossible for seniors to have a comfortable life in retirement especially lower income recipients
Julie
I also agree completely! and we need to keep lobbying our governors to change this. Too little is happening too slowly, reach out today to your representatives please. Here are some organizations trying to help:
https://www.aarp.org/aarp-foundation/our-work/housing/
National Low Income Housing Coalitionhttps://nlihc.org
We are dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that ensures people with the lowest incomes in the United States have affordable and decent …
About Us · Housing Needs By State · Explore Issues · HoUSed
California | National Low Income Housing Coalitionhttps://nlihc.org › housing-needs-by-state › california
NLIHC Housing Advocacy Organizer ; California Coalition for Rural Housing 717 K St. Suite 400. Sacramento, CA 95814-3406. P 916-443-4448 · http://www.calruralhousing.
Meredith
Seniors OR people with disabilities! I’ve been rejected and/or denied services, by “Disability Rights” Organizations, more times than I ever imagined!
I am permanently disabled, on SSDI and welfare. I seem to fall in the “Gap.” I am too young for any Senior Sevices, despite the fact that their Mission Statements say services are available to any person with a disability! Plus, recently we’re awarded TRILLIONS of dollars to HELP & INclude people like me, not EXclude the very people, they claim provide much needed, services!
Kim B.
I’m in the same gap the Government has left out as well. I’m 52, disabled and I can’t work so I have to live on just SSD, I don’t qualify for SSI, can’t get welfare, I share a house with someone where we split the cost of rent and utilities, so no utilities relief. The cost of living is still higher than what I get, I’m now facing the reality that in 2 weeks I’m going to be homeless because I can’t find another place to live, I’ve gone without the medication I need to take for over a year making it unbearable and I’ve lost all hope. My anxiety has skyrocketed where I can barely get through a day let alone an hour without having a panic attack, I don’t sleep because I’m in so much pain physically and mentally and now facing homelessness after getting through pandemic and paying for everything that others got relief with. I understand and I know others have it just as bad or worse than me, and I just don’t understand why a large demographic of people are totally ignored and denied access to what everyone is supposed to be entitled to. I live in Philadelphia Pennsylvania and every day I’m seeing more and more homeless people, we’re not a State where State government is sending relief checks to, and really don’t see how anything is getting better because it’s not, it’s worse now then before the pandemic started. I wrote the President and challenged him to read the blogs posted here and explain why he left out our Seniors and people who have disabilities and come up with a solution. If everyone is entitled to food, medical care, to buy homes or just to just rent, then why are so many of us homeless and constantly, consistently denied our civil rights. I’m just sick of seeing how this government has digressed in how it takes care of WE THE PEOPLE
A.C.
Hi, Kim. We are sorry to hear about your condition and situation. You may be eligible to receive social services from the state in which you live. These services include free meals, housekeeping help, transportation, or help with other problems. To get information about services in your area and find out if you qualify, you will need to contact your state or local social services or welfare office. We hope this helps.
joe z.
its all getting way out of control at least you could to is give us a 1400.00 stimulus check
James S.
I fall into no earned income category that confuses insurance policy applications or pastors that want 10% for tithing. They say how much is your paycheck then take 10%. I say can you multiply that by zero? I only have what I earned, saved and invested in the past then social security but no earned income. Then I discovered I have an income from any time I sell anything minus the cost of acquiring it (cost basis). Therefore the only way to avoid income rising is to be careful what I sell, for how much and really consider gifts to charity and capital losses over making any profits. It is weird to quit a poor job and have your income rise from selling items to downsize. First that is unrealized income because the cost of goods sold is greater therefore losses and I can choose when to sell and whether to make gains or losses. Unrealized income is imaginary and a type of estimate because cost is not considered so taxing that is nearly criminal.
Trying to not go on a tangent thought but seniors choosing to live together in groups like Golden Girls instead of everyone alone like individual hermits really saves money on food and housing and sometimes transportation.
George D.
I do not have a My Social Security Account because I live in France and do not have an address and telephone number in the States. How can I access the New Statement fact sheet for persons with limited earnings?
A.C.
Hi, George. Since you are living outside of the U.S., please contact your local Federal Benefits Unit for any assistance related to Social Security benefits. Also, our Office of International Operations home page provides more information to assist our customers living abroad. We hope this helps.
Jan
I have talked with many SSA personnel though the 800 phone number and gotten kind helpful persons to help me sort through the confusing materials. However, I also found I received some conflicting information from person to person. What I have learned along the way is it best to contact your local branch office. The personnel at this level have much more experience in handling a specific individual’s situation than the National number. I have received excellent support services at my local Long Beach SSA office.