When you are retired, there is a very good chance that you will collect Social Security benefits and that these benefits will be an important source of your income.
However, while most workers in the U.S. become eligible for these benefits, that is not the case for everyone. The rules are also going to be changing in 2026 regarding what workers must do to become eligible for Social Security benefits.
Here's what you need to know about how the new 2026 requirements could change your eligibility.
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Eligibility rules for Social Security retirement benefits are changing in 2026
To understand the change to Social Security's eligibility rules, you first need to know how a worker qualifies to collect Social Security in the first place.
Retirement benefits are earned benefits, which means you don't just get access to them automatically. You must take a job that collects Social Security taxes and pay those taxes into the system. When you do that, you can earn work credits, provided you earn enough income.
To qualify to collect benefits to help you supplement your 401(k) and fund your retirement, you must earn a total of 40 work credits. These credits can be earned at a rate of four per year. Essentially, this means that you must work for at least a decade to earn enough work credits to get retirement benefits.
You also have to make enough money to earn them. That's where the rule change comes in for 2026.
Work credits are now going to cost more to earn in 2026
The big rule change for Social Security eligibility that workers need to know about is a change in how much money you must make to earn work credits.
In 2025, you could earn one work credit for each $1,810 in covered earnings (money you pay Social Security tax on). You might earn that much in a month, or over the course of many months, or all year, depending on your salary.
The key is, this is the threshold amount to earn a single credit. If you want to earn all four credits that you are eligible for, you'd need to earn a total of $7,240.
In 2026, those numbers are going up. You'll have to earn $1,890 for each work credit, or a total of $7,560, to max out your work credits for the year.
This change could have a big effect on lower-income earners and those who work part-time. They could find themselves potentially coming in below the threshold to earn all of their work credits in 2026 if they just barely made the cutoff in 2025.
What happens if you don't earn enough work credits?
If you get to retirement age and want to collect Social Security, but you don't have enough work credits, unfortunately, you are not going to be eligible for retirement benefits based on your own work history.
You'll need to be prepared for this in your retirement planning process. This could mean contributing more money to other retirement plans like 401(k)s and IRAs to make sure you have money to support yourself.
Unfortunately, if you consistently make too little to earn enough work credits to qualify for Social Security, you probably don't have a lot of income to put into an IRA or similar plan.
However, if you are married and your spouse is the breadwinner, you should look into options like a spousal IRA. This could be critical to protect your financial security in the event of divorce, since you may not have your own Social Security benefits to fall back on if something happens.
You may also qualify for Social Security spousal benefits if you don't have work income of your own. These could be worth up to half of your spouse's standard benefit. Be aware, though, that if you divorce and your marriage lasted less than 10 years, spousal benefits won't be an option for you.
Ultimately, Social Security remains a very important source of retirement income for most, so you should know the eligibility rules. If you are close to qualifying, you should try to earn at least as much as you need to get your 40 work credits and bring this consistent income source into your bank account as a retiree.
