Retirement Insurance Benefits

Retirement Insurance Benefits (abbreviated RIB) or old-age insurance benefits are a form of social insurance payments made by the U.S. Social Security Administration paid based upon the attainment of old age (62 or older). Benefit payments are made on the 3rd of the month, or the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th Wednesday of the month, based upon the date of birth and entitlement to other benefits.

RIB is authorized under Title II of the Social Security Act.

Certain requirements must be met before a person becomes entitled to RIB. These requirements are based on both age and payments made into the Social Security System through payroll taxes. These are:

People attain fully insured status based upon their payments into the Social Security system through payroll taxes and the amount of time they have been working in jobs covered through the Social Security system. This is measured through quarters of coverage (QCs).

In order to be considered fully insured, a person must have at least 1 QC for each calendar year after the later of 1950 or the year he attains the age of 21, and the earlier of the year in which he attains the age of 62 or the year of death. A person also must have at least six total QCs and will not be required to have more than 40 QCs to be fully insured. Fully insured status is used for other benefits besides RIB.

The United States uses English common law; because of this a person obtains their age on the day before their birthday. A person born on the first of month is considered to obtain their age in the month prior and a person born on January 1 is considered to obtain their age in the prior year. In order for a person to be eligible for RIB in the month of their birth, they must have either been born on the first (where they obtained their age in the prior month) or the second of the month (where they obtained their age on the first of the month).

Benefit payments vary, in part, based on when a person claims RIB, so not every person will desire to begin collecting their benefits at the same time. As a result, an application must be filed with the Social Security Administration before one can collect RIB. There are several ways to apply for the benefits:

The amount of a RIB payment is based upon several factors, including: social security payroll taxes paid into the Social Security Trust Fund, the age at which benefits are claimed, the current earned income of an individual, and military service.

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