Q & A
Ask Rusty – Am I Entitled to More Social Security as a Veteran?
Dear Rusty: I served in the U.S. Army from July 1964 to July 1967. Am I eligible for a higher Social Security payment? Thank you. Signed: Vietnam Era Army Vet
Dear Army Vet: Please accept my sincere thanks for your military service. I believe you are referring to the “Special Extra Credit for Military Service” which has been the subject of many published articles. That refers to a special Social Security accommodation available only to those who served in the military during specific periods of time – but it does not add to your monthly Social Security payment. Rather, it adds to your military earnings record for the years you served, which may (or may not) result in a higher Social Security benefit when you later claim Social Security.
Here’s how it works in your case:
Serving between 1964 and 1967, if you told Social Security of your military service when you applied for Social Security benefits (or gave them a copy of your DD-214), they would have added up to $1,200 per year to your military pay record (FYI, those who served after 1966 were automatically given earnings credit for their military service years). However, whether those special extra credits would affect your monthly Social Security benefit depends on your lifetime earnings record when you later claimed Social Security.
When you applied for benefits, Social Security reviewed your lifetime earnings and used the highest earning 35 years of earnings over your lifetime (adjusted for inflation) to calculate your “Primary Insurance Amount” (or “PIA,” which is what you get if you claim benefits to start at your Social Security full retirement age). If, after your military service, you had 35 or more years of earnings which were higher than your earnings while serving in the military, Social Security would have used your later higher earning years to calculate your benefit, and your military earnings would not have had an effect on your Social Security benefit. However, if any of your military earnings (including the “special extra credits”) were among the highest over your lifetime, then those higher military earnings would be included when calculating your Social Security benefit.
So, whether you would benefit from these “special extra credits for military service” depends largely on your earnings history after you were discharged from active duty. If your military earnings were among the highest earning years over your lifetime, and you provided SSA with a copy of your DD-214 when you applied for Social Security, then your current SS benefit already includes consideration of your military service (FYI, Social Security should have asked about your military service when you applied). If you
didn’t tell SS about your military service when you applied for Social Security, or if you aren’t sure, you should contact the SSA at 1.800.772.1213 and ask if you were given those “special extra credits for military service” for your 1960s military service years when you applied for Social Security. But if you had at least 35 years of higher earnings after you left military service, your current SS benefit is already based on those later higher earning years, and you will not get any additional /Social Security benefit because of the “special extra credits” for your military service years.