Black History Month and Social Security

February is National Black History Month. This year’s theme, “Black Resistance,” focuses on Black Americans’ efforts to advocate for dignified, self-determined lives within our democratic society, while bringing attention to their achievements.

Social Security is here to help you live freely and with dignity. Our retirement, survivors, and disability programs help millions plan for their futures and stay out of poverty.

You can start planning for retirement today with a personal my Social Security account. Use your free account to see how much you might receive each month based on the age you want to start receiving retirement benefits. Additionally, we have a number of calculators to help you estimate your retirement payments.

We also pay disability benefits to people with medical conditions that could prevent them from working for 12 or more months or result in death. If a person with a disability has dependent family members, they may also be eligible to receive payments. We pay disability through two programs:

• The Social Security Disability Insurance program—for people who have worked and paid Social Security taxes long enough to be eligible.
• The Supplemental Security Income program—which is a means-tested program for people who are 65 or older, as well as people of any age, including children, who are blind or have disabilities.

Surviving spouses and their dependent children may be eligible for survivors benefits, which help provide income to the families of deceased workers. In fact, 98 of every 100 children could get benefits if a working parent dies. We pay more benefits to children than any other federal program.

You can learn more about retirement, survivors, and disability benefits on our website. We’re with you through life’s journey, helping secure today and tomorrow for you and your family.

Please share this with your loved ones—and post it on social media.