Like many government agencies, the Social Security Administration has its own special lingo.
Getting to know it can help you navigate rules and regulations and better understand your Social Security benefits.
Scroll through the alphabetical list for some of the most important terms and acronyms.
Appeal.A procedure for challenging an tool or benefit decision by the Social Security Administration.
Also known as family benefits.
Average indexed monthly earnings (AIME).A dollar amount representing your average monthly income across your working life.
AIME is key to theSocial Security benefit calculation.
Award letter.An official letter explaining the Social Security Administration’s decision on your tool for benefits.
Also known as a decision notice.
B
Beneficiary.An individual who receives Social Security benefits.
Also known as a benefits letter, budget letter, proof-of-award letter or proof-of-income letter.
Also known as a wage earner, worker or number holder.
Computation years.The years in which someone received earnings that are used to calculate a Social Security benefit.
For retired workers, this will be their highest-paid 35 years.
The figure is adjusted annually based on national wage trends; in 2021 it is $142,800.
Cost-of-living adjustment(COLA).Annual change to Social Security benefits so that they keep pace with inflation.
Covered employment.Work in which you and an employer are required to pay into Social Security via payroll tax contributions.
Most jobs in the U.S. economy are covered employment.
The survivor must file for the lump-sum death benefit within two years of the worker’s death.
Decision notice.An official letter explaining the Social Security Administration’s decision on your utility for benefits.
Also known as an award letter or denial letter, depending on the result.
You will receive the higher of the two benefits.
The Social Security Administration applies this standard in determining whether someone qualifies for disability benefits.
Disability benefits.Monthly payments to an individual whose physical or mental condition meets Social Security’s definition of disability.
Disability review.A periodic medical evaluation of someone receiving disability benefits to confirm that they still qualify.
The benefit can be up to 50 percent of the wage earner’s primary insurance amount.
The couple must have been married for at least 10 years for a divorced spouse to claim this benefit.
Dual entitlement does not mean you collect the sum of both benefits.
Early retirement benefits.Retirement benefits that are reduced for being claimed early, between age 62 and full retirement age.
The reduction is calculated based on the number of months before full retirement age that benefits are claimed.
Also known as an earnings history.
The limits are adjusted annually.
Eligibility doesn’t automatically enroll you in Social Security; when eligible, you better apply for a benefit.
Entitled.Having completed an utility for Social Security benefits for which you are eligible.
Also known as auxiliary benefits.
Also known as the maximum family benefit.
For a worker with a disability, it is between 100 and 150 percent of the primary insurance amount.
