Social Security Can Help You
Social Security is a
U.S. government program that pays workers who are retired or disabled.
To receive Social Security benefits, a person must be (or have been) a
worker and:
- Be 62 years of
age or older, or
- Be disabled, or
- Be the husband, wife or minor child of a person insured by Social
Security.
Your boss must
send an amount equal to 15.3% of your gross pay to the Social Security
Administration. Half of that amount, or 7.65%, is deducted from your
check by your employer. The other half is paid by your employer and is
not deducted from your check. If you believe that your boss has not
reported all of your earnings to Social Security, visit or call a Social
Security office.
It is against the
law for the boss to pay different workers on the same check. When this
happens, only the person named on the check is paying Social Security
taxes, and only that person will get the future Social Security
benefits.
To qualify for
Social Security benefits, you need a Social Security number and at least
40 quarters of work (roughly the same as 10 years of work).
If you used a
false Social Security number and now have a valid number, you could
still get credit for your earnings by taking proof of work or earnings
(a W-2 is the best proof) to any Social Security office.
At age 62, you can
start receiving Social Security retirement benefits. You will receive
more benefits if you wait until you reach age 65. Check with the Social
Security Office a year or so before retiring to make sure that you can
retire without any surprises or problems. You can leave the country and
continue to receive benefits; if you are not a U.S. citizen and you are
out of the country more than six months, your benefits could be stopped.
To find out how much you should receive from Social Security when you
retire, call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 and
ask for a "Report of Earnings" form.
A worker who is
disabled and unable to work for at least one year can apply for
disability benefits. If your application is denied, contact Farmworker
Legal Services or other lawyer.
If a worker has
not worked long enough to receive Social Security benefits, he or she
may qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SSI is a program
that gives assistance to certain low-income persons. To be able to
receive SSI, you must be a U.S. citizen or a qualified legal resident
who is 65 years old, blind or disabled, or have been a legal resident
before August 22, 1996.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
In some circumstances, receiving SSI may affect your immigration status.
Contact Farmworker Legal Services with questions about your particular
case.
If you have any questions about Social Security or Supplemental Security
Income (SSI), call your nearest Social Security Office or contact
Farmworker Legal Services.
