Social Security: How long does it take to be eligible?

Q: "How long does a person need to work to become eligible for retirement benefits?"

A: Everyone born in 1929 or later needs 40 Social Security "credits" to be eligible. You can earn up to four credits a year. So, you will need at least 10 years of covered employment or self-employment to become eligible for retirement benefits.

During your working years, we post earnings covered by Social Security to your record. You earn credits based on those earnings. The amount of earnings needed for a credit rises as average earnings levels rise. In 2010, and 2011, you receive one credit for each $1,120 of earnings, up to the maximum of four credits a year.

For more information, visit our website at www.socialsecurity.gov

Q: "I get disability benefits. I would really like to try to work again, but I can't risk losing my medical coverage. I understand Social Security's Ticket to Work might let me try working without endangering my benefits. What can you tell me about it?"

A: Ticket to Work is a voluntary program that offers disabled Social Security beneficiaries a variety of choices in obtaining the support and services they need to help them go to work and achieve their employment goals.

If you receive Social Security or supplemental security income benefits based on disability or blindness and would like to work or increase your current earnings, this program can help you get vocational rehabilitation, training, job referrals, and other ongoing support and services to do so. For more information, visit our Ticket to Work website at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/work.

Q: "What can I do if my Medicare prescription drug plan says it won't pay for a drug that my doctor prescribed for me?"

A: If your Medicare prescription drug plan decides that it won't pay for a prescription drug, it must tell you in writing why the drug isn't covered in a letter called a "notice of denial of Medicare prescription drug coverage." Read the notice carefully because it will explain how to ask for an appeal.

Your prescribing doctor can ask your Medicare drug plan for an expedited redetermination (first-level appeal) for you if the doctor tells the plan that waiting for a standard appeal decision may seriously harm your health. For more information, visit www.medicare.gov.

Get answers to your Social Security questions each Thursday from the Social Security District Director Martin Coffey. Submit questions by writing to Business Editor Dave Flessner, Chattanooga Times Free Press, P.O. Box 1447, Chattanooga, TN 37401-1447, or by emailing him at dflessner@timesfreepress.com.

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