Social security credit estimate

Estimated Social Security credits (max 40) from the earnings history when the user has not entered a count.

Field: Covered-work credit estimate Unit: count Basis: no dollar basis Computed by: UI-native Status: Complete chain

Appears in: ss-page (SocialSecuritySection credits hint "Estimated N of 40")

Calculation records

• Covered-work credit estimate Formula record, justified by derivation

  Purpose: Estimate the Social Security credits an earnings history earns, against the 40 a retirement benefit generally needs.

  Statement: socialSecurity/analysis/credits.ts#estimateCredits returns the entered credit count when there is one; otherwise it adds the history's rows by calendar year and sums #creditsForYear: from 1978, min(4, floor(earnings / that year's quarter-of-coverage amount)) with SSA's amounts (socialSecurity/ssaWageData.ts#QUARTER_OF_COVERAGE_AMOUNT_BY_YEAR, $250 in 1978 to $1,890 in 2026, the latest for a later year); before 1978, min(4, floor(earnings / 50)); nothing before 1937; capped at 40 in total. Eligible means at least 40. Units: credits. Rounding: floor for each year.

  Formula: credits = min(40, sum_y min(4, floor(E(y) / QC(y)))), QC(y) = SSA amount from 1978, 50 before, no credit before 1937

  • E(y): Covered earnings in year y, the rows for the year added (unit: usd/year) (domain: nonnegative)
  • QC(y): Earnings that earn one quarter of coverage in year y (unit: usd) (domain: 50 before 1978; 250 to 1,890 from 1978)

  Timing: once per earnings history

  Rounding: floor for each year

  Limits:

  • Years before 1978 were credited by calendar quarter with $50 of wages in the quarter, which an annual amount cannot show; the estimate counts the most such a year could earn, one per $50 up to four
  • The $100 self-employment rule before 1978 is not applied separately
  • Not an insured-status determination: no quarter assignment, and no disability or survivor rules; the warning invites the user to enter the count
  • A year after 2026 uses the 2026 amount until SSA publishes its own

  Provenance: derived by claude, implemented by claude.

  Independent review: codex

  Gates (6 of 6 pass): fixture registers a test: pass; pins resolve: pass; families exist: pass; worksheet exists: pass; mutation receipt exists: pass; provenance independent: pass

  Worksheet: covered-work-credit-estimate.md Mutation receipt: covered-work-credit-estimate.mutation.md

  Evidence tests: credits.evidence.test.ts

  Implemented in: credits.ts; ssaWageData.ts

  Is the number of: social-security-credit-estimate

Transformations

• socialSecurity/analysis/credits.ts#estimateCredits: an entered count wins; otherwise, for each calendar year's total earnings, min(4, floor(amount / that year's quarter-of-coverage amount)) from 1978 (SSA's table, the latest amount for a later year), min(4, floor(amount / 50)) before 1978 (the most a year could earn), nothing before 1937, capped at 40 in total.