At 59, She Was Told to Wait for Social Security. A Paid Apprenticeship Is Replacing the Zeros in Her Record.

Hold on until 62, claim Social Security, and make the smaller check work. One paid apprenticeship year does not get added as a 36th year and disappear into the pile. What matters for Social Security is whether the payment is covered wages or net self-employment income on which Social Security taxes are paid. Before enrolling, she should ask whether participants are employees, whether they receive a W-2, and whether Social Security tax will be withheld. What to Check Before EnrollingThree details carry most of the decision:Pull the Social Security earnings record and count the zero or low years.