DEFINITION: The special minimum benefit is a special minimum primary insurance amount ( PIA ) enacted in 1972 to provide adequate benefits to long-term low earners. The first full special minimum PIA in 1973 was $170 per month. Beginning in 1979, its value has increased with price growth and is $886 per month in 2020.

How do I qualify for Social Security minimum?

Anyone born in 1929 or later needs 10 years of work (40 credits) to be eligible for retirement benefits.

What are the requirements for special minimum Social Security benefits?

To be eligible for a special minimum benefit, a person must have at least 11 years of coverage. A person acquires a year of coverage by having a certain minimum amount of earnings in the year. Before 1979, the special minimum benefit amounts did not increase when benefit increases occurred.

Why is there no minimum social security payment?

At the end of 2018, the SSA noted that it does not expect any new recipients of this benefit. The reason for the cessation of the Special Minimum Benefit is that the regular Social Security benefit for taxpayers has gradually risen to the point that it now exceeds this minimum benefit.

How is the minimum income for Social Security calculated?

The Special Minimum Benefit was tied to price-indexed inflation; regular Social Security benefits are calculated based on wage-indexed inflation. For 2019, you receive one credit for every $1,360 in taxable Social Security earnings, up to a maximum of four credits annually.

What are the rules for the Social Security benefit tables?

Social Security Benefit Tables. To be eligible for a special minimum benefit, a person must have at least 11 years of coverage. A person acquires a year of coverage by having a certain minimum amount of earnings in the year. Before 1979, the special minimum benefit amounts did not increase when benefit increases occurred.