In 2007, earning $1,000 in wages will earn one social security credit. Uncle Sam only allows us to earn four credits a year. Here’s my question: Does that mean that if you earn $3,000 in gross wages per month in 2007 (for example) you earn three Social Security credits….or….does the amount of money that is deducted for Social Security from your paycheck(s) have to add up to $1,000 in order to get a credit? Hope I made this clear! Thanks!!!

Uh, you’ve got it wrong. "Credit" towards vesting in social security is not earned based on the dollar amount you’ve made. It is earned based on whether you were employed and paid social security tax during the calendar quarter. SSA looks at each quarter individually, and after you have social security wages reported in a total of 40 quarters (which works out to ten years), you will be fully vested in social security and will be eligible for full benefits when you reach retirement age.

It doesn’t matter if you only worked one day during the quarter, or every single day, if you have social security wages reported for the quarter, you will receive one quarter’s worth of credit towards the 40 quarters needed.