Can a person who has never worked receive Social Security benefits?

In the United States, around 71 million people currently receive Social Security benefits. Primarily, these monthly payments are distributed to retirees who have worked for the required number of years.

To qualify for Social Security benefits, one must meet a few requirements.

For those hoping to claim benefits once they have retired, it is mandatory that the worker has paid into the Social Security pot. Depending on the number of years contributing and your annual income, you will earn a certain number of work credits, which help to calculate your total benefit amount.

How do Social Security credits work?

Each year, a worker who pays into Social Security can receive a maximum of four work credits. The annual earnings needed to earn a credit increase each year, in an attempt to follow a pattern in wages. To claim retirement benefits, you need at least 40 work credits.

In addition to retirement benefits, Social Security payments are also available to Americans who have a qualifying disability. The number of credits required to claim this benefit ranges from six to 20, depending on the individual’s age when they became disabled.

For more information about the work credits required for Social Security eligibility, check out this explainer on the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) website.

Survivor and family benefits

If you have not been in work - or have an insufficient employment history - one major way to receive Social Security benefits is if you are the surviving dependent or spouse of a deceased worker.

Each month, some of the money collected from workers’ Social Security taxes goes towards the distribution of payments to the survivors of Americans who had paid in or were receiving Social Security benefits.

In addition to survivor benefits, the SSA also offers what’s known as family benefits. Under certain circumstances, the agency makes payments to the spouse or child of a living worker who is entitled to retirement or disability benefits.

How many people in the U.S. receive survivor or family benefits?

In 2024, around 11% of Social Security benefits were distributed to the survivors of deceased workers. In economic terms, the total amount sent to the almost six million survivors was $8.9 billion.

Dependents of retired or disabled workers, meanwhile, accounted for some 3.7 million beneficiaries, leading to $2.9 billion in payments.

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