CFR > Title 20 - Employees' Benefits > CHAPTER III—SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION > PART 404—FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950-) > SUBPART B—Insured Status and Quarters of Coverage (§404.101 to §404.146) > 404.143—How we credit quarters of coverage for calendar years after 1977.

404.143—How we credit quarters of coverage for calendar years after 1977.

(a) Crediting quarters of coverage (QCs). For calendar years after 1977, we credit you with a QC for each part of the total wages paid and self-employment income credited (under § 404.144) to you in a calendar year that equals the amount required for a QC in that year. For example, if the total of your wages and self-employment income for a calendar year is more than twice, but less than 3 times, the amount required for a QC in that year, we credit you with only 2 QCs for the year. The rules for crediting QCs in this section are subject to the limitations in § 404.146, which tells when a calendar quarter cannot be a QC. In addition, we cannot credit you with more than four QCs for any calendar year. The amount of wages and self-employment income that you must have for each QC is—
(1) $250 for calendar year 1978; and
(2) For each calendar year after 1978, an amount determined by the Commissioner for that year (on the basis of a formula in section 213(d)(2) of the Act which reflects national increases in average wages). The amount determined by the Commissioner is published in the Federal Register on or before November 1 of the preceding year and included in the appendix to this subpart.
(b) Assigning QCs. We assign a QC credited under paragraph (a) of this section to a specific calendar quarter in the calendar year only if the assignment is necessary to—
(1) Give you fully or currently insured status;
(2) Entitle you to a computation or recomputation of your primary insurance amount; or
(3) Permit you to establish a period of disability.

Code of Federal Regulations

[45 FR 25834, Apr. 15, 1980, as amended at 62 FR 38450, July 18, 1997]