(a) Insured status. This subpart explains what we mean when we say that a person has insured status under the social security program. It also describes how a person may become fully insured, currently insured or insured for disability benefits. Your insured status is a basic factor in determining if you are entitled to old-age or disability insurance benefits or to a period of disability. It is also a basic factor in determining if dependents' or survivors' insurance benefits or a lump-sum death payment are payable based on your earnings record. If you are neither fully nor currently insured, no benefits are payable based on your earnings. (Subpart D of this part describes these benefits and the kind of insured status required for each.) In §§ 404.110 through 404.120 we tell how we determine if you are fully or currently insured. The rules for determining if you are insured for purposes of establishing a period of disability or becoming entitled to disability insurance benefits are in §§ 404.130 through 404.133. Whether you have the required insured status depends on the number of quarters of coverage (QCs) you have acquired.

(b) QCs. This subpart also sets out our rules on crediting you with QCs. QCs are used in determining insured status. In general, you are credited with QCs based on the wages you are paid and the self-employment income you derive during certain periods. (See subpart K of this part for a definition of wages and self-employment income.) Our rules on how and when you acquire a QC are contained in §§ 404.140 through 404.146.

For the purpose of this subpart—

Act means the Social Security Act, as amended.

Age means how many years old you are. You reach a particular age on the day before your birthday. For example, if your sixty-second birthday is on July 1, 1979, you became age 62 on June 30, 1979.

Quarter or calendar quarter means a period of three calendar months ending March 31, June 30, September 30, or December 31 of any year.

We, our, or us means the Social Security Administration.

You or your means the worker whose insured status is being considered.

(a) General. We describe how we determine the number of quarters of coverage (QCs) you need to be fully insured in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this section. The table in § 404.115 may be used to determine the number of QCs you need to be fully insured under paragraph (b) of this section. We consider certain World War II veterans to have died fully insured (see § 404.111). We also consider certain employees of private nonprofit organizations to be fully insured if they meet special requirements (see § 404.112).

(b) How many QCs you need to be fully insured. (1) You need at least 6 QCs but not more than 40 QCs to be fully insured. A person who died before 1951 with at least 6 QCs is fully insured.

(2) You are fully insured for old-age insurance benefits if you have one QC (whenever acquired) for each calendar year elapsing after 1950 or, if later, after the year in which you became age 21, and before the year you reach retirement age, that is, before—

(i) The year you become age 62, if you are a woman;

(ii) The year you become age 62, if you are a man who becomes age 62 after 1974;

(iii) The year 1975, if you are a man who became age 62 in 1973 or 1974; or

(iv) The year you became age 65, if you are a man who became age 62 before 1973.

(3) A person who is otherwise eligible for survivor's benefits and who files an application will be entitled to benefits based on your earnings if you die fully insured. You will be fully insured if you had one QC (whenever acquired) for each calendar year elapsing after 1950 or, if later, after the year you became age 21, and before the earlier of the following years:

(i) The year you die; or

(ii) The year you reach retirement age as shown in paragraph (b)(2) of this section.

(c) How a period of disability affects the number of QCs you need. In determining the number of elapsed years under paragraph (b) of this section, we do not count as an elapsed year any year which is wholly or partly in a period of disability we established for you. For example, if we established a period of disability for you from December 5, 1975 through January 31, 1977, the three years, 1975, 1976 and 1977, would not be counted as elapsed years.

(d) How we credit QCs for fully insured status based on your total wages before 1951—(1) General. For purposes of paragraph (b) of this section, we may use the following rules in crediting QCs based on your wages before 1951 instead of the rule in § 404.141(b)(1).

(i) We may consider you to have one QC for each $400 of your total wages before 1951, as defined in paragraph (d)(2) of this section, if you have at least 7 elapsed years as determined under paragraph (b)(2) or (b)(3) of this section; and the number of QCs determined under this paragraph plus the number of QCs credited to you for periods after 1950 make you fully insured.

(ii) If you file an application in June 1992 or later and you are not entitled to a benefit under section 227 of the Act in the month the application is made, we may consider you to have at least one QC before 1951 if you have $400 or more total wages before 1951, as defined in paragraph (d)(2) of this section, provided that the number of QCs credited to you under this paragraph plus the number of QCs credited to you for periods after 1950 make you fully insured.

(2) What are total wages before 1951. For purposes of paragraph (d)(1) of this section, your total wages before 1951 include—

(i) Remuneration credited to you before 1951 on the records of the Secretary;

(ii) Wages considered paid to you before 1951 under section 217 of the Act (relating to benefits in case of veterans);

(iii) Compensation under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 before 1951 that can be credited to you under title II of the Social Security Act; and

(iv) Wages considered paid to you before 1951 under section 231 of the Act (relating to benefits in case of certain persons interned in the United States during World War II).

(e) When your fully insured status begins. You are fully insured as of the first day of the calendar quarter in which you acquire the last needed QC (see § 404.145).

We consider that a person, who was not otherwise fully insured, died fully insured if—

(a) The person was in the active military or naval service of the United States during World War II;

(b) The person died within three years after separation from service and before July 27, 1954; and

(c) The conditions in § 404.1350 that permit us to consider the person fully insured are met.

(d) The provisions of this section do not apply to persons filing applications after May 31, 1992, unless a survivor is entitled to benefits under section 202 of the Act based on the primary insurance amount of the fully insured person for the month preceding the month in which the application is made.

If you are age 55 or over on January 1, 1984, and are on that date an employee of an organization described in § 404.1025(a) which does not have in effect a waiver certificate under section 3121(k) of the Code on that date and whose employees are mandatorily covered as a result of section 102 of Pub. L. 98-21, we consider you to be fully insured if you meet the following requirements:

(a) General. You may use the following table to determine the number of quarters of coverage (QCs) you need to be fully insured under § 404.110. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section tell you how to use this table.

(b) Number of QCs you need. The QCs you need for fully insured status are in column II opposite your date of birth in column I. If a worker dies before reaching retirement age as described in § 404.110(b)(2), the QCs needed for fully insured status are shown in column IV opposite—

(1) The year of death in column III, if the worker was born before January 2, 1930; or

(2) The age in the year of death in column V, if the worker was born after January 1, 1930.

(c) How a period of disability affects the number of QCs you need. If you had a period of disability established for you, it affects the number of QCs you need to be fully insured (see § 404.110(c)). For each year which is wholly or partly in a period of disability, subtract one QC from the number of QCs shown in the appropriate line and column of the table as explained in paragraph (b) of this section.

(a) What the period is for determining currently insured status. You are currently insured if you have at least 6 quarters of coverage (QCs) during the 13-quarter period ending with the quarter in which you—

(1) Die;

(2) Most recently became entitled to disability insurance benefits; or

(3) Became entitled to old-age insurance benefits.

(b) What quarters are not counted as part of the 13-quarter period. We do not count as part of the 13-quarter period any quarter all or part of which is included in a period of disability established for you, except that the first and last quarters of the period of disability may be counted if they are QCs (see § 404.146(d)).

(a) General. We have four different rules for determining if you are insured for purposes of establishing a period of disability or becoming entitled to disability insurance benefits. To have disability insured status, you must meet one of these rules and you must be fully insured (see § 404.132 which tells when the period ends for determining the number of quarters of coverage (QCs) you need to be fully insured).

(b) Rule I—You must meet the 20/40 requirement. You are insured in a quarter for purposes of establishing a period of disability or becoming entitled to disability insurance benefits if in that quarter—

(1) You are fully insured; and

(2) You have at least 20 QCs in the 40-quarter period (see paragraph (f) of this section) ending with that quarter.

(c) Rule II—You become disabled before age 31. You are insured in a quarter for purposes of establishing a period of disability or becoming entitled to disability insurance benefits if in that quarter—

(1) You have not become (or would not become) age 31;

(2) You are fully insured; and

(3) You have QCs in at least one-half of the quarters during the period ending with that quarter and beginning with the quarter after the quarter you became age 21; however—

(i) If the number of quarters during this period is an odd number, we reduce the number by one; and

(ii) If the period has less than 12 quarters, you must have at least 6 QCs in the 12-quarter period ending with that quarter.

(d) Rule III—You had a period of disability before age 31. You are insured in a quarter for purposes of establishing a period of disability or becoming entitled to disability insurance benefits if in that quarter—

(1) You are disabled again at age 31 or later after having had a prior period of disability established which began before age 31 and for which you were only insured under paragraph (c) of this section; and

(2) You are fully insured and have QCs in at least one-half the calendar quarters in the period beginning with the quarter after the quarter you became age 21 and through the quarter in which the later period of disability begins, up to a maximum of 20 QCs out of 40 calendar quarters; however—

(i) If the number of quarters during this period is an odd number, we reduce the number by one;

(ii) If the period has less than 12 quarters, you must have at least 6 QCs in the 12-quarter period ending with that quarter; and

(iii) No monthly benefits may be paid or increased under Rule III before May 1983.

(e) Rule IV—You are statutorily blind. You are insured in a quarter for purposes of establishing a period of disability or becoming entitled to disability insurance benefits if in that quarter—

(1) You are disabled by blindness as defined in § 404.1581; and

(2) You are fully insured.

(f) How we determine the 40-quarter or other period. In determining the 40-quarter period or other period in paragraph (b), (c), or (d) of this section, we do not count any quarter all or part of which is in a prior period of disability established for you, unless the quarter is the first or last quarter of this period and the quarter is a QC. However, we will count all the quarters in the prior period of disability established for you if by doing so you would be entitled to benefits or the amount of the benefit would be larger.

(a) For a period of disability. To establish a period of disability, you must have disability insured status in the quarter in which you become disabled or in a later quarter in which you are disabled.

(b) For disability insurance benefits. (1) To become entitled to disability insurance benefits, you must have disability insured status in the first full month that you are disabled as described in § 404.1501(a), or if later—

(i) The 17th month (if you have to serve a waiting period described in § 404.315(d)) before the month in which you file an application for disability insurance benefits; or

(ii) The 12th month (if you do not have to serve a waiting period) before the month in which you file an application for disability insurance benefits.

(2) If you do not have disability insured status in a month specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, you will be insured for disability insurance benefits beginning with the first month after that month in which you do meet the insured status requirement and you also meet all other requirements for disability insurance benefits described in § 404.315.

In determining if you are fully insured for purposes of paragraph (b), (c), (d), or (e) of § 404.130 on disability insured status, we use the fully insured status requirements in § 404.110, but apply the following rules in determining when the period of elapsed years ends:

(a) If you are a woman, or a man born after January 1, 1913, the period of elapsed years in § 404.110(b) used in determining the number of quarters of coverage (QCs) you need to be fully insured ends as of the earlier of—

(1) The year you become age 62; or

(2) The year in which—

(i) Your period of disability begins;

(ii) Your waiting period begins (see § 404.315(d)); or

(iii) You become entitled to disability insurance benefits (if you do not have to serve a waiting period).

(b) If you are a man born before January 2, 1913, the period of elapsed years in § 404.110(b) used in determining the number of QCs you need to be fully insured ends as of the earlier of—

(1) The year 1975; or

(2) The year specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section.

For purposes of establishing a period of disability only, we give you quarters of coverage (QCs) for your military service before 1957 (see subpart N of this part). We do this even though we may not use that military service for other purposes of title II of the Act because a periodic benefit is payable from another Federal agency based in whole or in part on the same period of military service.

(a) General. A quarter of coverage (QC) is the basic unit of social security coverage used in determining a worker's insured status. We credit you with QCs based on your earnings covered under social security.

(b) How we credit QCs based on earnings before 1978 (General). Before 1978, wages were generally reported on a quarterly basis and self-employment income was reported on an annual basis. For the most part, we credit QCs for calendar years before 1978 based on your quarterly earnings. For these years, as explained in § 404.141, we generally credit you with a QC for each calendar quarter in which you were paid at least $50 in wages or were credited with at least $100 of self-employment income. Section 404.142 tells how self-employment income derived in a taxable year beginning before 1978 is credited to specific calendar quarters for purposes of § 404.141.

(c) How we credit QCs based on earnings after 1977 (General). After 1977, both wages and self-employment income are generally reported on an annual basis. For calendar years after 1977, as explained in § 404.143, we generally credit you with a QC for each part of your total covered earnings in a calendar year that equals the amount required for a QC in that year. Section 404.143 also tells how the amount required for a QC will be increased in the future as average wages increase. Section 404.144 tells how self-employment income derived in a taxable year beginning after 1977 is credited to specific calendar years for purposes of § 404.143.

(d) When a QC is acquired and when a calendar quarter is not a QC (general). Section 404.145 tells when a QC is acquired and § 404.146 tells when a calendar quarter cannot be a QC. These rules apply when we credit QCs under § 404.141 or § 404.143.

(a) General. The rules in this section tell how we credit calendar quarters as quarters of coverage (QCs) for calendar years before 1978. We credit you with a QC for a calendar quarter based on the amount of wages you were paid and self-employment income you derived during certain periods. The rules in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this section are subject to the limitations in § 404.146, which tells when a calendar quarter cannot be a QC.

(b) How we credit QCs based on wages paid in, or self-employment income credited to, a calendar quarter. We credit you with a QC for a calendar quarter in which—

(1) You were paid wages of $50 or more (see paragraph (c) of this section for an exception relating to wages paid for agricultural labor); or

(2) You were credited (under § 404.142) with self-employment income of $100 or more.

(c) How we credit QCs based on wages paid for agricultural labor in a calendar year after 1954. (1) We credit QCs based on wages for agricultural labor depending on the amount of wages paid during a calendar year for that work. If you were paid wages for agricultural labor in a calendar year after 1954 and before 1978, we credit you with QCs for calendar quarters in that year which are not otherwise QCs according to the following table.

(2) When we assign QCs to calendar quarters in a year as shown in the table in paragraph (c)(1) of this section, you might not meet (or might not meet as early in the year as otherwise possible) the requirements to be fully or currently insured, to be entitled to a computation or recomputation of your primary insurance amount, or to establish a period of disability. If this happens, we assign the QCs to different quarters in that year than those shown in the table if this assignment permits you to meet these requirements (or meet them earlier in the year). We can only reassign QCs for purposes of meeting these requirements.

(d) How we credit QCs based on wages paid or self-employment income derived in a year. (1) If you were paid wages in a calendar year after 1950 and before 1978 at least equal to the annual wage limitation in effect for that year as described in §§ 404.1047 and 404.1096, we credit you with a QC for each quarter in that calendar year. If you were paid at least $3,000 wages in a calendar year before 1951, we credit you with a QC for each quarter in that calendar year.

(2) If you derived self-employment income (or derived self-employment income and also were paid wages) during a taxable year beginning after 1950 and before 1978 at least equal to the self-employment income and wage limitation in effect for that year as described in § 404.1068(b), we credit you with a QC for each calendar quarter wholly or partly in that taxable year.

In crediting quarters of coverage under § 404.141(b)(2), we credit any self-employment income you derived during a taxable year that began before 1978 to calendar quarters as follows:

(a) If your taxable year was a calendar year, we credit your self-employment income equally to each quarter of that calendar year.

(b) If your taxable year was not a calendar year (that is, it began on a date other than January 1, or was less than a calendar year), we credit your self-employment income equally—

(1) To the calendar quarter in which your taxable year ended; and

(2) To each of the next three or fewer preceding quarters that were wholly or partly in your taxable year.

(a) Crediting quarters of coverage (QCs). For calendar years after 1977, we credit you with a QC for each part of the total wages paid and self-employment income credited (under § 404.144) to you in a calendar year that equals the amount required for a QC in that year. For example, if the total of your wages and self-employment income for a calendar year is more than twice, but less than 3 times, the amount required for a QC in that year, we credit you with only 2 QCs for the year. The rules for crediting QCs in this section are subject to the limitations in § 404.146, which tells when a calendar quarter cannot be a QC. In addition, we cannot credit you with more than four QCs for any calendar year. The amount of wages and self-employment income that you must have for each QC is—

(1) $250 for calendar year 1978; and

(2) For each calendar year after 1978, an amount determined by the Commissioner for that year (on the basis of a formula in section 213(d)(2) of the Act which reflects national increases in average wages). The amount determined by the Commissioner is published in the Federal Register on or before November 1 of the preceding year and included in the appendix to this subpart.

(b) Assigning QCs. We assign a QC credited under paragraph (a) of this section to a specific calendar quarter in the calendar year only if the assignment is necessary to—

(1) Give you fully or currently insured status;

(2) Entitle you to a computation or recomputation of your primary insurance amount; or

(3) Permit you to establish a period of disability.

In crediting quarters of coverage under § 404.143(a), we credit self-employment income you derived during a taxable year that begins after 1977 to calendar years as follows:

(a) If your taxable year is a calendar year or begins and ends within the same calendar year, we credit your self-employment income to that calendar year.

(b) If your taxable year begins in one calendar year and ends in the following calendar year, we allocate proportionately your self-employment income to the two calendar years on the basis of the number of months in each calendar year which are included completely within your taxable year. We consider the calendar month in which your taxable year ends as included completely within your taxable year.

If we credit you with a quarter of coverage (QC) for a calendar quarter under paragraph (b), (c), or (d) of § 404.141 for calendar years before 1978 or assign it to a specific calendar quarter under paragraph (b) of § 404.143 for calendar years after 1977, you acquire the QC as of the first day of the calendar quarter.

This section applies when we credit you with quarters of coverage (QCs) under § 404.141 for calendar years before 1978 and under § 404.143 for calendar years after 1977. We cannot credit you with a QC for—

(a) A calendar quarter that has not begun;

(b) A calendar quarter that begins after the quarter of your death;

(c) A calendar quarter that has already been counted as a QC; or

(d) A calendar quarter that is included in a period of disability established for you, unless—

(1) The quarter is the first or the last quarter of this period; or

(2) The period of disability is not taken into consideration (see § 404.320(a)).

This appendix shows the amount determined by the Commissioner that is needed for a quarter of coverage for each year after 1978 as explained in § 404.143. We publish the amount as a Notice in the Federal Register on or before November 1 of the preceding year. The amounts determined by the Commissioner are as follows: