Does anyone question their Social Security benefits?

[badmotorscooter]

I don't even know where to start with this, trying to stay level headed...

Upon my ex-wife's prompting I made an account with My Social Security and checked my earnings record.

Holy sh!t!  It isn't even close to accurate!  On several years tens of thousands of income is not reported/recorded.  Off the top of my head at least 10 years were really screwed up, probably more.  Her social security earnings are just as effed up.

Some of these are decades old, of course I don't have all the records to prove the mistakes.  For example:  in 1994 I was married and supporting my wife and two kids while paying child support for two children from a previous marriage.
My income is recorded at $711 for that year???

I read online that Social Security would require documents to correct any errors but the IRS only keeps records for 3 years???  God I hope that is misinformation...  It seems this might be a common occurrence, but I've never heard of this before.  Am I just a dumbass or living under a rock?

What do you guys know about this nightmare scenario?

 

[user 423]

Someone else using your SS number? But I guess that would mean even more income reported.

Contact former employers for old pay records.

 

[maki2]

Don't panic so much. The early years are not as important in determining the payouts as the most recent years. You should make an appointment and go in person to a local Social Security office to discuss this.

Do not rely on a forum for legal advice regarding any of your personal finances.

 

[badmotorscooter]

Not so much of a panic as disbelief and frustration.

Luckily I am in a decent place financially and the incorrect estimated monthly benefit will be more than enough. That's not the point though, and I have a sneaking suspicion this problem is a lot more prevalent than most people suspect.

Has anyone else checked the accuracy of their reported/recorded social security earnings?

 

[Riverman]

You didn't get a printed report of your earnings every year in the mail?

 

[user 423]

Has anyone else checked the accuracy of their reported/recorded social security earnings?

Yes, I've checked mine and there were just a couple of years that seemed questionable. Too long ago to be sure though.

 

[badmotorscooter]

Nope, in the last 10 years I might have gotten 1? And now like everything else it has gone paperless and I didn't receive anything asking for an email address or a way to register.

Maybe I'm living in a fantasy world were I assumed the Social Security Administration would simply get my earnings information from the IRS? What could go wrong? Ha! Ha!

Yes that reminds me. The ex-wife determined that the IRS owed her $100 from a past refund. She had the documents to prove it but was denied the owed funds because the 3 year time limit had passed. Back in the 80's I ran into a little tax problem where I owed money from 7 years previous. They had no problem collecting that money from me.

But that's America... Organizations that have their own special rules and are protected from lawsuits. But we the people don't receive such considerations... You gotta love it!

 

[maki2]

Not so much of a panic as disbelief and frustration.

Luckily I am in a decent place financially and the incorrect estimated monthly benefit will be more than enough.  That's not the point though, and I have a sneaking suspicion this problem is a lot more prevalent than most people suspect.

Has anyone else checked the accuracy of their reported/recorded social security earnings?

I am past retirement age and my Social Security reports accurately reflect what I earned each of those years.

 

[B and C]

Mine were all reported correctly too.

 

[SLB_SA]

My earnings records with the SSA are correct.

The top 35 inflation adjusted earnings years determine your PIA and that, together with your year of birth and when you decide to start taking benefits, determine your social security benefits. Any adjusted earnings below the top 35 do not matter. For myself, my 1983 earnings were about $21K but after adjustment according to SSA rules, they represent about $64K and are number 36 in my ranking of adjusted earnings. If you replaced my 1983 earnings by $0, it would have no effect on my benefits. The same would be true of you. Relax.

 

[swlands]

Have you talked to Social Security? Mine was pretty bolloxed as I got behind on tax payments back in the 90's, and I tried doing my own tax returns as a self employed. But I did get a face to face meeting when I started up SS and they dug back and unearthed data and straightened things out to where I feel it is OK. They do have me at $0 income for 1994, and I still have the bankers box of receipts, bank statements etc from that year but I don't want to poke the bear.

So yes, it should be fine to question it, but I would try and do it face to face with the SSA. Just question it, explain what you have here, see what they can dig up.

 

[badmotorscooter]

Yes, I'm going to have to talk to them face to face.

And some of the years that are reported incorrectly should be in the top 35 earnings bracket. One of them is misreported by 20k! Thankfully I have my income tax return for that year. Others are off by 5k to 8k and I don't think I have any documents for them, and some of those should be in the top 35 earning years.

So yeah, without a miracle this is probably gonna cost me some benefits...

Like I mentioned earlier, my retirement plans will still work fine, but many people that are depending on a small monthly social security benefit could be suffering from a gross miscalculation through no fault of their own.

 

[badmotorscooter]

OK, this is how it works out.

The 20k missing from one year is replaced by one year that is 2k less. There were 4 other years all reported quite a bit low, but again can be replaced by other years which are slightly lower because I have 44 years of work history vs the 35 needed.

Total reported earnings deficit is about 7k when just dropping the misreported years and bumping up a slightly lower years to replace them.

I did a manual calculation and my results came very close to what social security stated. When recalculating with the 7k deficit it only reduces my monthly benefit by $6.

So I won't even bother dealing with the whole mess. However, my ex-wife who has less than 35 years of earnings is really screwed. This could also (and does) happen to other people.

The way SSA receives earnings reports is a joke.
I did a lot of research and concluded an organization that is responsible for at least 44 years of earnings/benefits should be obligated to keep complete records at the very least. If you're lucky you get an update every 6 years (I didn't) but you only have 3 years and 3 months to correct any problems. How does that work??? I wasn't taught in school or every time I filled out a W4 that it was imperative to keep a lifetime record of all earnings.

Just lucky that the consequences in this instant were minimal...

 

[Tony's Dream]

I am a numbers man so I have always checked my social security numbers. I have my statements going back as far as when the statements have been produced. I have worked for the federal government for nearly 40 years and came to the conclusion early that I don't trust them to keep accurate records. So when I am ready to retire I know what I am entitled to.

 

[barleyguy]

Just a random note... The earnings record at Social Security isn't a record of how much you made, it's a record of how much you paid Social Security tax on.

These numbers can be different if you worked a job that doesn't contribute, such as some jobs with pensions, or if you worked for mostly tips and didn't send in the SS on those tips, or if you worked "under the table" and didn't have SS tax taken out by your employer. Probably many other examples.

 

[TMooney]

I'm glad you have some kind of relationship with your ex to freely talk. I'm almost best friends with mine and shes happily married. Hes also a friend of mine .