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Glossary of Social Security Terms & Acronyms
AME (Average Monthly Earnings) The dollar amount used in calculating your monthly Social Security benefit if you attained age 62 or became disabled (or died) before 1978. The AME is determined by dividing the total earnings in the "computation years" by the number of months in those same years.
Early Retirement You can start getting Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62 if you are insured, but your benefit amount will be less than you would have gotten if you waited until your full retirement age. If you take retirement benefits early, your benefit will remain permanently reduced, based on the number of months you received benefits before you reached full retirement age.
ERA (Early Retirement Age) Age 62. For more information, see Retirement benefits by year of birth.
Earnings Record (lifetime record of earnings) A chronological history of the amount of money you earned each year during your working lifetime. The credits you earned remain on your Social Security record even when you change jobs or have no earnings.
Family Maximum The maximum amount of benefits payable to an entire family on any one worker’s record.
FRA (Full Retirement Age) The age at which a person may first become entitled to full or unreduced benefits based on age. The age which you will be able to collect your full retirement benefit amount. The full retirement age is 66 if you were born from 1943 to 1954. The full retirement age increases gradually if you were born from 1955 to 1960, until it reaches 67. For anyone born 1960 or later, full retirement benefits are payable at age 67.
Benefits Social Security pays five types of benefits: Retirement, Disability, Spouse’s/dependent children, Survivors, Medicare
Glossary of Terms
Social Security: A federal insurance program that provides benefits to workers and their families in the event of retirement, disability, or death.
Social Security Administration (SSA): U.S. government agency that administers the Social Security program. The SSA is responsible for managing the program and ensuring that eligible individuals receive the benefits to which they are entitled. The SSA operates a network of field offices, teleservice centers, and online services to assist workers and beneficiaries with applying for and receiving benefits. It also maintains a database of workers' earnings and calculates the amount of benefits to which they are entitled based on their work history.
Full Retirement Age (FRA): The age at which a worker becomes eligible to receive full Social Security retirement benefits, based on their date of birth.
Early Retirement: The option to begin receiving reduced Social Security retirement benefits before reaching Full Retirement Age.
Delayed Retirement: The option to defer receiving Social Security retirement benefits until after reaching Full Retirement Age, resulting in an increased benefit amount.
Disability Benefits: Monthly payments to individuals who are unable to work due to a physical or mental disability.
Survivor Benefits: Monthly payments to the spouse and/or children of a deceased worker who was covered by Social Security.
Retirement Estimator: A tool provided by the Social Security Administration that allows you to estimate your future retirement benefits based on your work history and earnings.
Social Security Statement: A summary of your earnings and estimated retirement, disability, and survivor benefits provided by the Social Security Administration.
Benefit Election: The choice of when to start receiving Social Security benefits and what type of benefits to receive (retirement, disability, or survivor).
Spousal Benefits: The option for a spouse to receive a Social Security benefit based on their spouse's work history, even if they have not worked themselves.
Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA): Annual increase to Social Security benefits that is designed to help keep pace with inflation and rising costs of living. COLA is calculated using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which measures the average change in prices of goods and services consumed by urban workers.
External Resource Links
Social Security Administration: www.ssa.gov/