Military careers often follow a different path than civilian ones. Many veterans move between active duty, reserve service, and civilian jobs, and some also receive military retirement pay or VA benefits.
Social Security accounts for military service in several ways. When those rules are reflected correctly in your record, they can increase your earnings history and help maximize your senior benefits.
Here are the key steps veterans can take to make sure their service counts toward a higher monthly check.
Find Out: 14 benefits seniors are entitled to but often forget to claim
Check that your active-duty credits are included
Social Security includes special earnings credits for most active-duty service between 1957 and 2001. These credits add extra wages to your record, which can raise your average indexed earnings and increase your benefit.
Here’s how they work:
-
1957–1977: Social Security adds $300 in extra earnings for each quarter of active-duty service.
-
1978–2001: You receive $100 in extra earnings for every $300 of active-duty pay, up to $1,200 per year.
For service after 1967, the credits are usually already included in your Social Security record. If your service was between 1957 and 1967, you may need to provide proof, such as a DD-214, when you apply so the earnings can be added.
In either case, double-check with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that your service years are included.
Who really has the cheapest auto insurance in your area? Check your zip code here.
Higher civilian earnings can raise your benefit
Social Security uses your highest 35 years of indexed earnings to calculate your benefit. That means strong civilian wages after military service can meaningfully raise your monthly check.
Many veterans build new careers using GI Bill education or skills gained on active duty. Higher earnings later in life can replace earlier lower-wage years in the 35-year average, which lifts the base used to calculate benefits. Earning up to the annual taxable maximum in more years increases that effect.
If you claim early and continue working, Social Security reviews your record each year. When a new year ranks among your top 35, the agency recalculates your benefit and adds any increase you’ve earned, usually effective the following year.
Once you reach full retirement age (FRA), your earnings no longer reduce your benefit, no matter how much you make.
At that point, any previously withheld amounts are reflected in a higher payment. Over time, steady earnings and strong late-career income can translate into a larger lifelong benefit.
Time your claim strategically
When you claim Social Security has a lasting effect on your monthly benefit. Starting before full retirement age reduces the payment permanently, while waiting beyond FRA earns delayed retirement credits.
For those born after 1943, Social Security adds roughly 8% per year for each year you wait beyond full retirement age, up to age 70. That increase becomes part of your permanent monthly benefit.
Consider a veteran whose full retirement age benefit would be $2,000 per month.
Claiming at 62 could reduce that amount to about $1,400, while waiting until full retirement age would provide the full $2,000. Delaying further to 69 or 70 would push the monthly check higher, potentially adding several hundred dollars per month for life.
In short, for veterans who can rely on other income sources, such as military retirement pay or VA benefits, delaying Social Security may be more manageable. Each additional year of delay up to age 70 locks in a larger lifetime payment, which can make a meaningful difference over time.
Coordinate Social Security with VA and military pensions
Many veterans receive VA disability compensation or military retirement pay in addition to Social Security, which often raises questions about how these benefits interact. In practice, they are treated separately under federal rules.
Military retirement pay does not reduce your Social Security retirement benefit. VA disability compensation, which is tax-free, is not counted as income for Social Security purposes. Your Social Security check is based on your civilian and military earnings record, not on whether you also receive VA or pension payments.
Because these benefits don’t offset each other, there’s usually no need to claim Social Security early out of concern about losing other payments.
Veterans who have steady income from a pension or VA benefits may be able to wait longer to claim, allowing delayed retirement credits to increase their monthly Social Security check.
What to check before you claim Social Security
Before filing, it helps to review a few details that can affect the size and timing of your benefit. For instance:
-
Medicare eligibility begins at 65, even if Social Security is delayed, and late enrollment can lead to permanent premium penalties.
-
Social Security statements should include all military and civilian earnings, since missing years reduce the benefit calculation.
-
Military service before 1968 may require documentation, such as a DD-214, for special credits to be applied.
-
Full retirement age varies by birth year, which affects both early reductions and delayed retirement credits.
These rules do not change frequently, but once benefits start, they operate automatically. Many unexpected reductions or delays can be traced to missed enrollment windows, incomplete earnings records, or misunderstanding how the formula applies to your work history.
Bottom line
Every veteran’s situation is different, but the Social Security rules apply the same way to everyone. Taking time to review your earnings record and think through your timing options can help you make the right moves before you file.
For veterans in particular, knowing how the system credits military service alongside civilian work can mean the difference between a standard benefit and one that more fully reflects a lifetime of service.
More from FinanceBuzz: