Retirement - Currently, workers become eligible for full retirement benefits at age 65 or for reduced benefits at 62.

To qualify for benefits, workers must have been part of the labor force for a set amount to time (usually 10 years) to show labor force attachment. Workers earn credits, up to four credits a year, that go towards their eligibility. Generally, forty credits are needed to qualify for benefits. (Younger people need fewer credits to qualify for disability or survivors benefits). The earning levels for credits change each year. In 1996, $640 earns one credit.

Survivors - Survivors benefits are paid to deceased workers' families. Those who qualify include:

• Widows(er)s age 60 or older, 50 or older if disabled, or any age if caring for children under 16;
• Children if they are unmarried and under 18, 18 to 19 but in school, or over 18 and disabled;
• Parents, if the deceased was their primary means of support.

The average benefits level of a family that consists of a widow and two children is $1,350 per month, roughly equal to the payout from a $295,000 life insurance policy.

Disability - Disability is defined as "an inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity (SGA) by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months." Under such conditions, both disabled workers and their dependents can qualify for benefits.

NEXT: Conclusion