I have been giving talks to Adjunct or Part Time Community College teachers who are caught up by this. We all have multiple jobs, some teaching at other districts and some of us who had ‘industry” jobs that did pay into Social Security. Most have some SS earnings from working their way through college or for the years when there were no teaching jobs in their field. The point is that many, like you folks, do not have enough quarters. Find out how many you need to meet the minimum 40 quarters required. If you only need a few, consider a job to earn those needed quarters. Quarters are calendar year based: Jan – Feb – March for example: 13 weeks. For 2025, you need to earn $1,810 in a quarter for it to count. Look at it as $604 per month for three months within a quarter. Try to find another gig somewhere else to make this happen; talk to a Staffing Agency. Another way to think about it is that your part time job only needs to earn $140 per week for each of the 13 weeks. What else are you doing with your time? I am 77 and still working.
You need 40 quarters (10 years) to qualify, but what is a quarter?
How to figure out which Quarters of Earnings to count towards Social Security
Latest amount & QC explanation
The amount of earnings required for a quarter of coverage (QC) in 2025 is $1,810. “Quarter of coverage” is a legal term, but you may also see the term “Social Security credit” (or just “credit”) used elsewhere. A QC is the basic unit for determining whether a worker is insured under the Social Security program. No matter how high your earnings may be, you can not earn more than 4 QC’s in one year.
Determination of the quarter of coverage amount for 2025
The law specifies that the quarter of coverage (QC) amount for 2025 is equal to the 1978 amount of $250 multiplied by the ratio of the national average wage index for 2023 to that for 1976, or, if larger, the 2024 amount of $1,730. If the amount so determined is not a multiple of $10, it shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $10.
Source: Quarter of Coverage
| Quarter of CoverageCost of Living Adjustment |
Think about it?
If a quarter is 13 weeks, then $1,810 / 13 = $140 per week (rounded) bare minimum.
$1,810 / 3 months = $604 per month but need 3 months to complete the quarter.
or think about getting another gig that pays $25/hour. You’ll need to work about
$1,810 / $25 = 72 hours in 13 weeks
or about 6 hours a week
an hour a day for a few more years to invest in your retirement!
You can do it!