• When eligible, employees will receive Social Security benefits based on their earnings, age, and marital status.

Social Security is a program run by the federal government using taxes paid into a trust fund to provide benefits to people who are eligible. Social Security provides people with a source of income when they retire or when they can’t work due to a disability. It can also support legal dependents (spouse, children, or parents) with benefits in the event of a person’s death. Employees will need a Social Security number when they apply for a job.

How much Social Security income they’ll receive depends on:

• Their earnings over their lifetime,
• The age at which they’ll begin receiving benefits, and
• Whether they’ll be eligible to receive a spouse’s benefit instead of their own.

Employees can use Social Security’s retirement benefits planner to:

• Estimate their benefits at each age, from 62 (the earliest they can receive them) to 70 (when they hit their greatest amount);
• Apply for retirement benefits; and
• Learn about earning limits if they plan to work while receiving Social Security benefits.