I’m guessing there’s something floating around on the internet giving veterans false hope that they are due some kind of extra Social Security benefits for serving in the military. Vets around the country are marching into their local Social Security office with their DD-214 (military discharge papers) demanding that this hyped-up bonus be added to their Social Security checks. Or they are sending me emails asking me to help them get the extra money.
As is so often the case with these online rumors, there is a tiny kernel of truth to the story. But then exaggerated claims and false information take over and things get blown way out of proportion.
Here are the facts in a nutshell: If you were in the military any time up until 2001, the government may add a small amount of additional earnings to your Social Security record. And here is the good news: Those earnings are added automatically. There is nothing you need to do to get the extra credits. But here is the bad news: The extra credits are relatively minimal and usually will have little or no impact on the eventual amount of your Social Security check. Now here are the details.
If you served on active duty or active duty training in the military service any time after 1956, you paid Social Security taxes on your earnings just like anyone else working at a job covered by Social Security. And since 1988, inactive duty in the armed forces reserves, such as weekend drills, has also been covered by Social Security. That’s the simple part.
What leads to all the confusion is that Congress decided to add extra earnings credits to the Social Security records of military personnel. And the amount of those credits varies depending on the time served.
If you were in the military between 1957 and 1977, the government adds $300 to your Social Security records for each calendar quarter in which you received active duty basic pay.
From 1978 through 2001, the government adds an extra $100 to your Social Security account for each $300 you earned in basic pay, up to a maximum of $1,200 per year. There are times when these extra credits aren’t granted. For example, if you enlisted after Sept. 7, 1980, and didn’t complete your full tour of duty, you won’t get the extra credits. Check with the Social Security Administration for more exceptions.
Beginning in 2002, the government stopped adding extra credits to Social Security records for military service.
As I said above, if you are due extra credits, you usually don’t need to do anything to get them added to your record. If you served from 1968 through 2001, those credits are automatically added to your Social Security account. If you served from 1957 through 1967, the credits will be added at the time you file for benefits. In some cases, you may be asked to provide your DD-214 (discharge papers) to verify your military service.
The story is a little different for older vets. If you served in the armed forces between 1940 and 1956, Social Security taxes were not deducted from your military paychecks. But in most cases, the government did add $160 per month in earnings to your Social Security account for the time you served. These credits were automatically added at the time you applied for Social Security benefits.
So that’s the story. There are no big Social Security bonuses for vets. You don’t need to go to your Social Security office waving your DD-214 and expect to get a big pile of cash. (Although, as I pointed out above, folks who served between 1957 and 1967 may need to show their discharge papers at the time they file for benefits to get those extra earnings added to their Social Security account.)
And finally, it’s important that I repeat this message: Those extra earnings you get for your military service aren’t going to make you rich. Because Social Security retirement benefits are figured using a 35-year base of earnings, a few hundred dollars sprinkled here and there into your Social Security account will have little if any impact on your eventual Social Security benefit.
Q: I was a housewife most of my life. I am now 61 years old. My husband is only 55. I know I will get Social Security and Medicare on his record someday. (He plans to work until he is 70.) But that is a long way off. So I hope to get Social Security and Medicare on my own account. The problem is that I only worked a few years before I got married. My Social Security records show I have 36 credits. What do I need to do to get my own Social Security?
A: You need to find a job! You don’t need much of a job. And you don’t need to work for too long a period of time if you simply want to cross over the minimum threshold you need to qualify for retirement benefits.
That threshold is 40 credits. So you are just four credits shy of that mark. Social Security credits used to be assigned on a calendar quarter basis — one credit for each calendar quarter worked. That’s why many people still call them “quarters of coverage.” And that meant you would had to have worked an entire year (four calendar quarters) to get the extra credits you need.
