MW I started working as a dishwasher at age 13. Social Security refuses to acknowledge this. Am I being cheated?

By Quentin Fottrell

'I am 69, and started collecting Social Security when I was 661/2'

"I also worked every summer at a full-time job, even when I was in college." (Photo subject is a model.)

Dear Quentin,

I started working when I was 13; I worked 20 hours a week as a dishwasher.

Although I was a full-time student, I also worked every summer at a full-time job, even when I was in college. I am 69, and started collecting Social Security when I was 66 1/2. The thing is, Social Security is not acknowledging the first 12 years of my work experience, even though taxes were taken out as well as Social Security deductions.

I have attempted to talk to my local Social Security office about this, but to no avail. I am presently collecting about $1,700 a month in payments; my wife is collecting over $2,500/month, even though my work history is longer than hers. (My wife states that it wouldn't make much of a difference since my wages were so low at that time.)

Am I being cheated?

You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions at qfottrell@marketwatch.com. The Moneyist regrets he cannot reply to questions individually.

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These formative early years likely left a deep impression on you emotionally and helped shape your relationship with work and money for the remainder of your life.

Dear Frustrated,

Listen to your wife.

And your wife should listen to you. This is an important question, but I suspect that it has less to do with your final Social Security benefit, and more to do with the fact that you had to toil away in a kitchen at such a young age - an experience that has fallen through the official cracks.

To answer your question at face value: The Social Security Administration requires you to have 40 work credits to qualify for Social Security, which equates to roughly 10 years of work, but it will calculate your final benefit based on your highest 35 years of work. You can read more here.

Even if the SSA had a record of your early years working as a minor in a restaurant kitchen and/or your student jobs, chances are these were so poorly paid in comparison with the rest of your working life that they would not figure in your final $1,700 monthly benefit.

The Social Security Administration will calculate your final benefit based on your highest 35 years of work.

"Credits are based on your total wages and self-employment income for the year," according to the SSA. "You might work all year to earn four credits, or you might earn enough for all four in less time. The amount of earnings it takes to earn a credit may change each year."

"In 2026, you earn one Social Security and Medicare credit for every $1,890 in covered earnings each year. You must earn $7,560 to get the maximum four credits for the year," it adds. "You might earn more credits than the minimum number you need to be eligible for benefits."

"These extra credits do not increase your benefit amount," the SSA says. "The average of your earnings over your working years, not the total number of credits you earn, determines how much your monthly payment will be when you receive benefits."

The Fair Labor Standards Act

The 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act $(FLSA)$ made it illegal for most 13-year-olds to work in non-agricultural jobs in an attempt to stamp out exploitative child labor. If you were working in a kitchen as a dishwasher at 13, chances are you were not officially on the books.

Up until the mid to late 1950s, Social Security records were stored manually or with electromechanical machines, including punched cards and early tabulating equipment. Details were stored manually on, for example, physical index cards

In February 1959, the Social Security Administration acquired a special microfilm printer that transcribed data from magnetic tape to microfilm, centralizing records and eliminating the massive physical index of name strips; converting to microfilm began in 1958.

Collecting at 661/2 is more relevant to your benefit. Had you waited until 70, your benefit would be closer to $2,176.

Collecting at 661/2 is more relevant to your benefit. Your final payout increases by around 8% a year - or two thirds of 1% a month - for each year you delay claiming past your Full Retirement Age up to age 70. Had you waited until 70, your benefit would be roughly $2,176.

These formative early years, working as a minor and student, likely left a deep impression on you emotionally and helped shape your relationship with work and money for the remainder of your life. Anyone who starts working at 13 is unlikely to take one dime for granted.

At the risk of sounding like the Good Witch Glinda, what you want from the Social Security Administration - recognition and acknowledgment for these years spent working as part of your official record - you can give to yourself. I can't imagine those early years were easy.

Teenage labor-force participation

Teenagers are less likely to work today than they were 50 years ago. Since 1979, teen labor-force participation has fallen from around 60% to 35%-40%, due to a tightening of labor laws, socio-economic changes and more school commitments and extracurricular activities.

What's more, FLSA sets limits for teenage workers under the age of 18, which vary based on the age and job. FLSA sets 14 years old as the minimum age for employment, and limits the number of hours worked by minors under the age of 16.

For example, 14 and 15-year-olds are permitted to work a maximum of three hours on a school day and 18 hours on a school week; and eight hours on a non-school day and 40 hours a week during a non-school week - with some states imposing stricter rules.

You deserve kudos and sincere acknowledgement for washing dishes as a young teenager half a century ago.

To find your missing Social Security earnings, set up a "my Social Security account" to find your officially recorded earnings years, and employers involved, and gather key documents like W-2s, pay stubs, tax returns and IRS wage transcripts.

File a Form SSA-7008 to request a correction and/or ask for an appointment to request an earnings record review. But keep in mind that your early low-wage work is highly unlikely to increase your final monthly benefit amount.

Which brings us back to your reason for wanting these early years as a working teenager officially recorded in the government's files. You deserve kudos and sincere acknowledgement for washing dishes as a young teenager half a century ago.

Your courageous 13-year-old self should hear that.

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-Quentin Fottrell

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February 07, 2026 12:42 ET (17:42 GMT)

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