Social Security is an earned benefit. SS keeps track of your earnings so you can be payed the benefits you’ve earned over your lifetime. This is why reviewing your SS earnings record is so important. You can do much of your business with SS online.
If an employer didn’t properly report just one year of your work earnings to SS, your future benefit payments could be less than they should be. Over the course of your lifetime, that could cost you tens of thousands of dollars in retirement or other benefits to which you are entitled. It is important to report problems with your earnings record right away, because as time passes, you may not have access to old tax documents.
While it’s the responsibility of your employers, both past and present, to provide accurate earnings information to SS, you are the only person who can look at your lifetime earnings record and verify that it’s complete and correct. The easiest way to validate your earnings record is to visit www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount and set up or sign in to your My Social Security account. Carefully review each year of listed earnings and use your own W-2s and tax returns to confirm them. (Earnings from this year and last year may not be listed yet.) If you spot errors, call SS.
Find more detailed instructions on how to correct your SS earnings record at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/EN-05-10081.pdf.
For questions, online applications or to make an appointment to visit a SSA office, call from 7am–5pm, Mon–Fri: 1-800-772-1213 (toll free) | www.socialsecurity.gov
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