[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 20, Volume 2]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 20CFR404.101]

[Page 62]
 
                      TITLE 20--EMPLOYEES' BENEFITS
 
               CHAPTER III--SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
 
PART 404_FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950	 )
--Table of Contents
 
            Subpart B_Insured Status and Quarters of Coverage
 
Sec. 404.101  Introduction.

    Authority: Secs. 205(a), 212, 213, 214, 216, 217, 223, and 702(a)(5) 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(a), 412, 413, 414, 416, 417, 
423, and 902(a)(5)).

    Source: 45 FR 25384, Apr. 15, 1980, unless otherwise noted.

                                 General


    (a) Insured status. This subpart explains what we mean when we say 
that a person has insured status under the social security program. It 
also describes how a person may become fully insured, currently insured 
or insured for disability benefits. Your insured status is a basic 
factor in determining if you are entitled to old-age or disability 
insurance benefits or to a period of disability. It is also a basic 
factor in determining if dependents' or survivors' insurance benefits or 
a lump-sum death payment are payable based on your earnings record. If 
you are neither fully nor currently insured, no benefits are payable 
based on your earnings. (Subpart D of this part describes these benefits 
and the kind of insured status required for each.) In Sec. Sec. 404.110 
through 404.120 we tell how we determine if you are fully or currently 
insured. The rules for determining if you are insured for purposes of 
establishing a period of disability or becoming entitled to disability 
insurance benefits are in Sec. Sec. 404.130 through 404.133. Whether 
you have the required insured status depends on the number of quarters 
of coverage (QCs) you have acquired.
    (b) QCs. This subpart also sets out our rules on crediting you with 
QCs. QCs are used in determining insured status. In general, you are 
credited with QCs based on the wages you are paid and the self-
employment income you derive during certain periods. (See subpart K of 
this part for a definition of wages and self-employment income.) Our 
rules on how and when you acquire a QC are contained in Sec. Sec. 
404.140 through 404.146.