Most of us go through life without being concerned about or checking our Social Security records. We assume the money deducted each payday and an equal amount paid in by our employer are applied correctly to this valuable retirement benefit. But it is now easier than ever to review your earnings report.

Check your Social Security records

The Social Security Administration (SSA) gets a ton of fraudulent W-2s and 1099s and can’t catch them all. This is creating a high degree of reporting errors, even when identity thieves do not file tax returns. In addition, the SSA and your employer occasionally make errors. Unfortunately, the only way to catch these problems is if you see them. Waiting until retirement may be too late to correct a mistake made 10 or 20 years ago. Common issues created by these errors and their impact are:

1. Incorrect amounts. If the SSA does not receive a W-2 wage statement from an employer, you will not see credit for these earnings. Since your Social Security retirement check is based on your lifetime earnings, if you have earnings that are missing, your retirement check will be permanently lower.
2. Missing the correct length of time. In addition to receiving credit for earnings, you also need to work 40 quarters or 10 years to be fully eligible for retirement benefits. These missing earnings reports reduce the number of working quarters. Mess up here and you may not qualify for benefits at all!
3. The three-year correction time limit. Per the SSA, an earnings record can be corrected at any time up to three years, three months, and 15 days after the year in which the wages were paid or the self-employment income was derived. While there are exceptions for fraud and obvious clerical errors, why risk the hassle by not finding mistakes and fixing them when they happen?

How to review your earnings report

Thankfully, it’s now easier to confirm the accuracy of your account by visiting www.ssa.gov and using the SSA’s online tool. There, you can review your historical earnings statements. To use the tool, there is a sign-up process that includes several safety measures to protect your identity. This is usually through ID.me. You must provide a valid ID and be able to take a photo of yourself and your ID.

Once you log in, review your earnings report for any errors. If you see an error, take steps to correct it immediately. You can do this by contacting the SSA:

• Telephone: 1 (800) 772-1213
• Mail: Social Security Administration Office of Earnings Operations, PO Box 33026, Baltimore, MD 21290-3026

Of course, you can also always feel free to contact our RRBB advisors if you have any questions. Since you may have just completed last year’s tax filing, now is a great time to get in the habit of reviewing your Social Security records. It is your future.