§404.261. Computing your special minimum primary insurance amount. — Inbound Citations

(c) Regardless of the method used to compute the primary insurance amount, if the special minimum primary insurance amount described in § 404.261 to this title is higher, then the family maximum will be based upon the special minimum primary insurance amount.

(7) In §§ 404.260 through 404.261, we describe how we compute the special minimum PIA for long-term, low-paid workers.

(5) In some situations, we use what we call a special minimum computation, described in §§ 404.260 through 404.261, to find your primary insurance amount. Computations under this method reflect long-term, low-wage attachment to covered work.

(c) When you become entitled to old-age or disability insurance benefits and to a monthly pension, we will compute your primary insurance amount under the average-indexed-monthly-earnings method (§ 404.212) as modified by paragraph (c) (1) and (2) of this section. Where applicable, we will also consider the 1977 simplified old-start method (§ 404.241) as modified by § 404.243 and a special minimum primary insurance amount as explained in §§ 404.260 and 404.261. We will use the highest result from these three methods as your primary insurance amount. We compute under the average-indexed-monthly-earnings method, and use the higher primary insurance amount resulting from the application of paragraphs (c) (1) and (2) of this section, as follows:

(1) The formula in appendix II, except that instead of the first percentage figure (i.e., 90 percent), we use—

(i) 80 percent if you initially become eligible for old-age or disability insurance benefits in 1986;

(ii) 70 percent for initial eligibility in 1987;

(iii) 60 percent for initial eligibility in 1988;

(iv) 50 percent for initial eligibility in 1989;

(v) 40 percent for initial eligibility in 1990 and later years, or

(2) The formula in appendix II minus one-half the portion of your monthly pension which is due to noncovered work after 1956 and for which you were entitled in the first month you were entitled to both Social Security benefits and the monthly pension. If the monthly pension amount is not a multiple of $0.10, we will round to the next lower multiple of $0.10. To determine the portion of your pension which is due to noncovered work after 1956, we consider the total number of years of work used to compute your pension and the percentage of those years which are after 1956, and in which your employment was not covered. We take that percentage of your total pension as the amount which is due to your noncovered work after 1956.

Regardless of the method we use to compute your primary insurance amount, if the special minimum primary insurance amount described in § 404.261 is higher, then your benefits (and those of your dependents or survivors) will be based on the special minimum primary insurance amount. Special minimum primary insurance amounts are not based on a worker's average earnings, as are primary insurance amounts computed under other methods. Rather, the special minimum primary insurance amount is designed to provide higher benefits to people who worked for long periods in low-paid jobs covered by social security.

(a) The special minimum primary insurance amounts (described in §§ 404.260 through 404.261) of current and future beneficiaries;