Checking Your Social Security Statement
Monday December 8, 2008
I received my annual Social Security statement in the mail over the weekend. This is an annual report that the Social Security Administration sends out each year. The statement shows annual earnings for each year that you worked, and calculates your estimated Social Security benefits at retirement should your future earnings remain consistent with your previous earnings.
What's important is to check the accuracy of the earnings shown for the past three years. That's because there's a statute of limitations for correcting Social Security earnings. The time limit is three years, three months, and fifteen days from the end of the calendar year.
So the first thing I do when I get my Social Security statement is check the accuracy of the last three years of annual earnings. For this, you'll need a copy of your federal tax return. You'll be looking for copies of your Form W-2, and Schedule SE if you are self-employed. The earnings figures shown on the Social Security statement should match the total of:
- Box 3 of all your Forms W-2, and
- Line 4 from Schedule SE section A, or Line 6 from Part I of Schedule SE.
More information:
- My Social Security Statement Contains Errors (from AARP.org)
- How Your Benefit Is Figured (from SocialSecurity.gov)
- Information about Your Statement (from SocialSecurity.gov)
Comments
Hi, I left this question under another of your articles, but this one seems to be the perfect place. My employer made an error on my 2007 social security wages (all other numbers were correct) and didn’t catch the error until now. I have received a W-2c form from my employer correcting that single item, but I’m not sure if I have to file an amended tax return. Thanks for your help.
Connie, you won’t need to file an amended tax return, since there will not be any change to your federal income tax. However, do make sure that the SSA updates your earnings history with the correct figures.