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Martha Shedden is RSSA’s President and Co-Founder. Read Martha’s responses to questions regarding Social Security. View all questions or browse by category. Submit your own question to Martha here.

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I want to retire next year, but I have only worked for 29 years. How will this impact my benefits?

Hi there, The Social Security Administration uses your highest 35 years of earnings, after adjusting for inflation, to calculate your benefit amount. If you do not have 35 years of earnings, zeros will be used for the years with no earnings. This is not uncommon at all. In your case, you will have 6 years…

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