Social Security

What Makes Your Client Eligible

To be eligible for full Social Security benefits your client must:

• Have reached full retirement age (65 years and two months in 2003)
• Have worked and paid Social Security taxes
• Have worked at least 10 years

For Social Security purposes, full retirement age is determined by your client's year of birth; however, no matter what your client's full retirement age is, he/she can start receiving benefits as early as age 62. Visit www.socialsecurity.gov/retirechartred.htm for detailed information.

If your client meets the eligibility requirements, he/she can receive Social Security benefits as early as age 62, but the monthly benefit will be reduced by 20 percent or less depending on his/her age.

There are disadvantages and advantages to taking these benefits earlier. The advantage is that your client can collect benefits for a longer period of time. The disadvantage is that your client's benefit is permanently reduced. People who delay accessing benefits beyond full retirement age get special credit for each month they do not receive a benefit until they reach age 70.

The Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool (BEST)

The Social Security Administration has made it easier for your clients to find out whether they are eligible for Social Security benefits. The Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool (BEST) is a tool your client can use to find out whether he/she could be eligible for benefits from any of the programs Social Security administers.

This tool will give your client eligibility information based on answers they provide to the questions on http://best.ssa.gov/index.cfm.

However, it is important to note that BEST is not an application for benefits and:

• Will not give your client an estimate of benefit amounts.
• Does not know, or ask for, your client's name or Social Security number.
• Does not access your client's Social Security records.