Retirement Insurance Benefits (abbreviated RIB) or old-age insurance benefits are a form of social insurance payments made by the U.S. Social Security Administration paid based upon the attainment of old age (62 or older). Benefit payments are made on the 3rd of the month, or the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th Wednesday of the month, based upon the date of birth and entitlement to other benefits. Legal authority RIB is authorized under Title II of the Social Security Act. Entitlement factors Certain requirements must be met before a person becomes entitled to RIB. These requirements are based on both age and payments made into the Social Security System through payroll taxes. These are: Be fully insured under the Social Security system Have obtained the age of 62 by the first of the month. Have either applied for the benefits or have been automatically converted from Disability Insurance Benefits at Full Retirement Age. Fully insured status People attain fully insured status based upon their payments into the Social Security system through payroll taxes and the amount of time they have been working in jobs covered through the Social Security system. This is measured through quarters of coverage. A person earns one quarter of coverage for each $1,410 of earned income in 2020. A person can earn up to four quarters of coverage per year. The amount to earn one quarter of coverage may change from year to year based on the national average wage index. In order to be considered fully insured, a person must generally have at least 40 quarters of coverage. Fully insured status is used for other benefits besides RIB. Age 62 The United States uses English common law; because of this a person obtains their age on the day before their birthday. A person born on the first of month is considered to obtain their age in the month prior and a person born on January 1 is considered to obtain their age in the prior year. In order for a person to be eligible for RIB in the month of their birth, they must have either been born on the first (where they obtained their age in the prior month) or the second of the month (where they obtained their age on the first of the month). Application Benefit payments vary, in part, based on when a person claims RIB, so not every person will desire to