Millions Risk Losing Social Security Benefits Over This Overlooked Mistake
Many retirees today would not be able to make ends meet without Social Security. And once you retire, you may become pretty reliant on those monthly benefits as well. That’s why even small errors in how those benefits are calculated could have a meaningful impact on your retirement finances over time.
Your Social Security benefits are based on two factors — your personal wage history and your filing age. If you claim Social Security at full retirement age, which is 67 for anyone born during or after 1960, you’ll get your monthly benefits without a reduction. Filing early will result in smaller checks, while a delayed claim gives you boosted benefits.
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What this means is that if your earnings record isn’t accurate, you could end up with smaller Social Security benefits than you’re actually entitled to. And if you don’t keep tabs on your earnings record, you risk losing out big time.
How to check your Social Security earnings record
A lot of people don’t know to check their Social Security earnings record. By not taking a look, though, you risk not knowing if you have underreported income on file that could lead to smaller benefits during retirement.
The good news is that reviewing your Social Security earnings record is relatively quick and easy.
Start by logging into your account on SSA.gov or creating one if you don’t have one yet. From there, access your earnings statements. They should have information on your reported wages so you know what details the Social Security Administration (SSA) has on file for you.
Some common issues to look out for include:
- Incorrect wages
- Income not reported due to a name change
- Self-employment income not property recorded
Even a single year of missing or underreported income could have a big impact on your Social Security checks down the line. So if you find an error, don’t just sit on it. Report it to the SSA to get it corrected.
A small step with a potentially huge payoff
Checking your earnings record might seem like a drag. But it’s one of the most important steps you can take to protect your retirement income.
It’s natural to assume that the SSA has correct wage information for you on record. And that may be the case. But if you don’t look, you won’t know. And the last thing you want is smaller monthly benefits for life simply because you didn’t take the time to do some digging.