I'm trying to put together my possible financial scenario upon retirement and am wondering if I get any retirement benefits at all from the US government. I worked there 1979 to 1987, paying into social security during this time. Since 1987 I've been living in Europe. 2012 I renounced US citizenship. Can anyone enlighten me on this, or perhaps know of any useful links? Thanks.

Just to check that I am not reading this incorrectuly - by "I worked there' do you mean that you worked for a company in the US, or worked for the US government? I ask because the latter often pays into a separate pension scheme rather than into SocSec,.

If you paid into US Soc Sec for 40 quarters you are eligible. (And if not, there are schemes where you still qualify, depending on where you contributed...)

One thing to be aware of, though, is that if you also get a pension from a foreign state you may fall into the WEP, the Windfall Elimination Program, which would reduce your US Soc Sec.

You can read more about it on the American Citizens Abroad website, here:
https://www.americansabroad.org/social-security/

Note the links to relevant government documents.

Thanks for the quick response, Melloncollie.
To answer your question, I worked for US companies. I had a small amount paid into a pension fund which was paid out to me in full and closed. The rest went to social security.
It sounds like I fall into the less than 40 quarters category (8 years=32 quarters).
I realize the amount I may be entitled to would be fairly small (I'm not even going to attempt a wild guess), but I've moved so often, I need to put together all the bits and pieces I can. I plan on retiring in Switzerland, but with only 12 years of my working life here, the AHV benefit will be appropriately reduced.
I gave a quick look at the link - thanks, I'll need to delve into it a bit more.

The ACA link in melloncollie's post includes this link, which allows access to your US Social Security records. A determination of your eligibility for US Social Security should be indicated after you sign up for an internet account:

https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/

Although the current US ambassador to Switzerland has stated that a person needs to be a US citizen to be eligible for US Social Security, this is incorrect. The years and amounts paid in are what count and not the person's citizenship.