9 Commonly Believed Myths about Social Security

3) Your Social Security benefits depend on your last ten years of work

While I can see where this myth came from, it is, like all others on this list, simply a myth. In order to begin receiving social security benefits, you need to have 40 quarters, or ten years of payments into social security. However, these ten years do not define your overall benefits, as your payments are based on an average of the 35-highest reported years of income, at an inflation adjusted rate. If you worked more than 35 years you would likely be kicking out those teenage jobs at the local fast-food joint, or maybe the years you stayed home to raise the baby.

However, keep in mind that if you work less than the 35 years, those years you didn’t work will be calculated as 0’s, resulting in a lower Social Security pay. It would pay to work those couple of extra years if you were laid off, resulting in fewer than 35 years, or if you want to knock out some of those early years of your career.