Michigan Legal Aid

SOCIAL SECURITY CAN HELP YOU

Social Security is a U.S. government program that pays workers who are retired or disabled. To receive Social Security benefits, a person must be (or have been) a worker and be:

• 62 years of age or older, or

• disabled, or

• the husband, wife or minor child of a person insured by Social Security.

Your boss must send an amount equal to 15.3% of your gross pay to the Social Security Administration. Half of that amount, or 7.65%, is deducted from your check by your employer. The other half is paid by your employer and is not deducted from your check. If you believe that your boss has not reported all of your earnings to Social Security, visit or call a Social Security office.

It is against the law for the boss to pay different workers on the same check. When this happens, only the person named on the check is paying Social Security taxes, and only that person will get the future Social Security benefits.

To qualify for Social Security benefits, you need a Social Security number and at least 40 quarters of work (roughly the same as 10 years of work).

If you used a false Social Security number and now have a valid number, you could still get credit for your earnings by taking proof of work or earnings (a W-2 is the best proof) to any Social Security office.
At age 62, you can start receiving Social Security retirement benefits. You will receive more benefits if you wait until you reach age 65. Check with the Social Security Office a year or so before retiring to make sure that you can retire without any surprises or problems. You can leave the country and continue to receive benefits; if you are not a U.S. citizen and you are out of the country more than six months, your benefits could be stopped. To find out how much you should receive from Social Security when you retire, call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 and ask for a "Report of Earnings" form.

A worker who is disabled and unable to work for at least one year can apply for disability benefits. If your application is denied, contact Farmworker Legal Services or another local legal services office.

If a worker has not worked long enough to receive Social Security benefits, he or she may qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SSI is a program that gives assistance to certain low-income persons. To be able to receive SSI, you must be a U.S. citizen or a qualified legal resident who is 65 years old, blind or disabled, or have been a legal resident before August 22, 1996.

IMPORTANT NOTE: In some circumstances, receiving SSI may affect your immigration status. Contact Farmworker Legal Services or other legal aid programs with questions about your particular case. If you have any questions about Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), call your nearest Social Security Office or contact Farmworker Legal Services.

To locate free or low cost legal assistance:

• Visit the Michiganlegalaid.org home page and search for local assistance by entering your zip code in the box marked “Find a lawyer, organization or related service to help you with your problem.” or

• Look under "attorneys" in the yellow pages to find your local legal aid office, or

• Contact the Michigan State Bar Lawyer Referral Service at (800) 968- 0738.

• Persons age 60 or older, regardless of their income, may be able to receive free advice from the Legal Hotline for Michigan Seniors by calling (800) 347-5297.