There are 2.6 million people 60 plus in America who will never receive Social Security benefits. Here’s why and how to ensure your benefits are locked in

To be eligible for Social Security benefits, you need to work — and pay Social Security taxes — for at least 10 years, earning a total of 40 credits. In 2024, you’ll need to earn $1,730 for one credit, and you can earn up to four credits per year. Your benefit will be based on your highest 35 years of earnings, and any years without work will count as zero in your benefit calculation.

How do you become a never beneficiary?

If you don’t earn enough credits during your working years, you may end up becoming a never beneficiary. It can be tough to accumulate those credits if you’re a late-arriving immigrant or an infrequent worker (for example, someone who took time off to raise children). According to the SSA, nearly half (49%) of never beneficiaries are older immigrants who don’t have enough credits to qualify for Social Security. Another 38.9% are infrequent workers.

If you work in a job that isn’t covered by Social Security — accounting for 10.8% of never beneficiaries — you also won’t receive benefits. This mainly applies to state and local government employees, but it’s not as bad as it might sound. These employees don’t pay Social Security taxes, so while they won’t receive it when they retire, they often receive a pension from their employer. The same goes for workers in the railroad industry, who don’t receive Social Security but have benefits with the Railroad Retirement Board (so long as they have more than 10 years of service).

A small portion of beneficiaries (1.3%) pass away before receiving benefits. You can’t start claiming Social Security until age 62, and you’re not eligible for 100% of your benefit until full retirement age (between 66 and 67, depending on the year you were born). If you pass away before age 62 you won’t be able to claim your benefit. However, terminally ill patients may qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and spouses and dependent children may be entitled to survivors’ benefits.

Another group that won’t receive their benefit includes U.S. citizens living in certain foreign countries. While in most cases you can receive your Social Security check if you live abroad, some countries are ineligible: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. There are exceptions (though not for Cuba and North Korea), and you can check your eligibility using the government’s Payments Abroad Screening Tool.

What can you do to lock in your benefit?

If you don’t have 40 credits, you could consider delaying retirement until you earn enough to be eligible. If you’re not able to work (say, for example, you have a disability), you may be eligible for other benefits.

If you’re divorced and aren’t eligible for your own Social Security retirement benefit, you may still be eligible for spousal benefits, if your marriage lasted at least 10 years and you haven’t remarried. You don’t need to tell your ex that you’re applying for spousal benefits, nor will it impact their benefits.

Immigrants who don’t have enough U.S. credits may still be eligible if they come from one of 30 countries that has a totalization agreement with the U.S. In this case, you can essentially combine U.S. credits with prorated benefits from your former country—but you’ll need to earn at least six credits in the U.S. If you haven’t, then you may want to consider working long enough to get those credits.

If you’re not sure if you’re eligible for Social Security—say, you’re an infrequent worker or a recent immigrant—what can you do to lock in your benefits? Start by checking your eligibility on the SSA website; you can also use the SSA Retirement Estimator to help you plan for retirement and calculate your payments.