42 U.S.C. § 413 : US Code - Section 413: Quarter and quarter of coverage

Search 42 U.S.C. § 413 : US Code - Section 413: Quarter and quarter of coverage

(a) Definitions
For the purposes of this subchapter - 
(1) The term "quarter", and the term "calendar quarter", mean a
period of three calendar months ending on March 31, June 30,
September 30, or December 31.
(2)(A) The term "quarter of coverage" means - 
(i) for calendar years before 1978, and subject to the
provisions of subparagraph (B), a quarter in which an individual
has been paid $50 or more in wages (except wages for agricultural
labor paid after 1954) or for which he has been credited (as
determined under section 412 of this title) with $100 or more of
self-employment income; and
(ii) for calendar years after 1977, and subject to the
provisions of subparagraph (B), each portion of the total of the
wages paid and the self-employment income credited (pursuant to
section 412 of this title) to an individual in a calendar year
which equals the amount required for a quarter of coverage in
that calendar year (as determined under subsection (d) of this
section), with such quarter of coverage being assigned to a
specific calendar quarter in such calendar year only if necessary
in the case of any individual who has attained age 62 or died or
is under a disability and the requirements for insured status in
subsection (a) or (b) of section 414 of this title, the
requirements for entitlement to a computation or recomputation of
his primary insurance amount, or the requirements of paragraph
(3) of section 416(i) of this title would not otherwise be met.
(B) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (A) - 
(i) no quarter after the quarter in which an individual dies
shall be a quarter of coverage, and no quarter any part of which
is included in a period of disability (other than the initial
quarter and the last quarter of such period) shall be a quarter
of coverage;
(ii) if the wages paid to an individual in any calendar year
equal $3,000 in the case of a calendar year before 1951, or
$3,600 in the case of a calendar year after 1950 and before 1955,
or $4,200 in the case of a calendar year after 1954 and before
1959, or $4,800 in the case of a calendar year after 1958 and
before 1966, or $6,600 in the case of a calendar year after 1965
and before 1968, or $7,800 in the case of a calendar year after
1967 and before 1972, or $9,000 in the case of the calendar year
1972, or $10,800 in the case of the calendar year 1973, or
$13,200 in the case of the calendar year 1974, or an amount equal
to the contribution and benefit base (as determined under section
430 of this title) in the case of any calendar year after 1974
and before 1978 with respect to which such contribution and
benefit base is effective, each quarter of such year shall
(subject to clauses (i) and (v)) be a quarter of coverage;
(iii) if an individual has self-employment income for a taxable
year, and if the sum of such income and the wages paid to him
during such year equals $3,600 in the case of a taxable year
beginning after 1950 and ending before 1955, or $4,200 in the
case of a taxable year ending after 1954 and before 1959, or
$4,800 in the case of a taxable year ending after 1958 and before
1966, or $6,600 in the case of a taxable year ending after 1965
and before 1968, or $7,800 in the case of a taxable year ending
after 1967 and before 1972, or $9,000 in the case of a taxable
year beginning after 1971 and before 1973, or $10,800 in the case
of a taxable year beginning after 1972 and before 1974, or
$13,200 in the case of a taxable year beginning after 1973 and
before 1975, or an amount equal to the contribution and benefit
base (as determined under section 430 of this title) which is
effective for the calendar year in the case of any taxable year
beginning in any calendar year after 1974 and before 1978, each
quarter any part of which falls in such year shall (subject to
clauses (i) and (v)) be a quarter of coverage;
(iv) if an individual is paid wages for agricultural labor in a
calendar year after 1954 and before 1978, then, subject to
clauses (i) and (v), (I) the last quarter of such year which can
be but is not otherwise a quarter of coverage shall be a quarter
of coverage if such wages equal or exceed $100 but are less than
$200; (II) the last two quarters of such year which can be but
are not otherwise quarters of coverage shall be quarters of
coverage if such wages equal or exceed $200 but are less than
$300; (III) the last three quarters of such year which can be but
are not otherwise quarters of coverage shall be quarters of
coverage if such wages equal or exceed $300 but are less than
$400; and (IV) each quarter of such year which is not otherwise a
quarter of coverage shall be a quarter of coverage if such wages
are $400 or more;
(v) no quarter shall be counted as a quarter of coverage prior
to the beginning of such quarter;
(vi) not more than one quarter of coverage may be credited to a
calendar quarter; and
(vii) no more than four quarters of coverage may be credited to
any calendar year after 1977.
If in the case of an individual who has attained age 62 or died or
is under a disability and who has been paid wages for agricultural
labor in a calendar year after 1954 and before 1978, the
requirements for insured status in subsection (a) or (b) of section
414 of this title, the requirements for entitlement to a
computation or recomputation of his primary insurance amount, or
the requirements of paragraph (3) of section 416(i) of this title
are not met after assignment of quarters of coverage to quarters in
such year as provided in clause (iv) of the preceding sentence, but
would be met if such quarters of coverage were assigned to
different quarters in such year, then such quarters of coverage
shall instead be assigned, for purposes only of determining
compliance with such requirements, to such different quarters. If,
in the case of an individual who did not die prior to January 1,
1955, and who attained age 62 (if a woman) or age 65 (if a man) or
died before July 1, 1957, the requirements for insured status in
section 414(a)(3) of this title are not met because of his having
too few quarters of coverage but would be met if his quarters of
coverage in the first calendar year in which he had any covered
employment had been determined on the basis of the period during
which wages were earned rather than on the basis of the period
during which wages were paid (any such wages paid that are
reallocated on an earned basis shall not be used in determining
quarters of coverage for subsequent calendar years), then upon
application filed by the individual or his survivors and
satisfactory proof of his record of wages earned being furnished by
such individual or his survivors, the quarters of coverage in such
calendar year may be determined on the basis of the periods during
which wages were earned.
(b) Crediting of wages paid in 1937
With respect to wages paid to an individual in the six-month
periods commencing either January 1, 1937, or July 1, 1937; (A) if
wages of not less than $100 were paid in any such period, one-half
of the total amount thereof shall be deemed to have been paid in
each of the calendar quarters in such period; and (B) if wages of
less than $100 were paid in any such period, the total amount
thereof shall be deemed to have been paid in the latter quarter of
such period, except that if in any such period, the individual
attained age sixty-five, all of the wages paid in such period shall
be deemed to have been paid before such age was attained.
(c) Alternative method for determining quarters of coverage with
respect to wages in period from 1937 to 1950
For purposes of sections 414(a) and 415(d) of this title, an
individual shall be deemed to have one quarter of coverage for each
$400 of his total wages prior to 1951 (as defined in section
415(d)(1)(C) of this title), except where such individual is not a
fully insured individual on the basis of the number of quarters of
coverage so derived plus the number of quarters of coverage derived
from the wages and self-employment income credited to such
individual for periods after 1950.
(d) Amount required for a quarter of coverage
(1) The amount of wages and self-employment income which an
individual must have in order to be credited with a quarter of
coverage in any year under subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii) of this section
shall be $250 in the calendar year 1978 and the amount determined
under paragraph (2) of this subsection for years after 1978.
(2) The Commissioner of Social Security shall, on or before
November 1 of 1978 and of every year thereafter, determine and
publish in the Federal Register the amount of wages and self-
employment income which an individual must have in order to be
credited with a quarter of coverage in the succeeding calendar
year. The amount required for a quarter of coverage shall be the
larger of - 
(A) the amount in effect in the calendar year in which the
determination under this subsection is made, or
(B) the product of the amount prescribed in paragraph (1) which
is required for a quarter of coverage in 1978 and the ratio of
the national average wage index (as defined in section 409(k)(1)
of this title) for the calendar year before the year in which the
determination under this paragraph is made to the national
average wage index (as so defined) for 1976,
with such product, if not a multiple of $10, being rounded to the
next higher multiple of $10 where such amount is a multiple of $5
but not of $10 and to the nearest multiple of $10 in any other
case.