Everyone needs to visit their my Social Security account yearly and make sure we have posted your most recent year of earnings correctly. If you haven’t done a complete year by year review of your record, you should do that.
Your earnings are used to compute the Social Security benefits due you and your family, so you want to make sure they are correct. You know the most about whether earnings are correct on your record or not. You are the one that should make the review.
In looking at the earnings for any year, if you had two or more employers or an employer and self-employment, we combined the total for both before we posted the amount. If you had two employers, but the wages for only one is posted, you will need to contact us.
Remember, there is a limit on the taxes you pay on your earnings. So, if you earned over the limit, but noticed that Social Security did not show the full amount, it is because Social Security only records the FICA taxable amount.
Since 1994, you have paid the Medicare tax on all your earnings, but the FICA tax only up to a limit. Don’t be confused because the wages in the FICA wages column and the Medicare wages column are different. Currently, you and your employer each pay 6.2% tax up to $128,400 of your earnings and 1.45% Medicare tax on all your earnings in 2018.
If you find an error on your statement, you should call us at 1-800-772-1213 between 7 A.M. and 7 P.M. (anywhere in the U.S). You need find your W-2 form or paystubs to verify the correct earnings amounts. If you don’t have those forms, call us to discuss other documents.
Your earnings statement is the foundation for your financial planning for the future, so be sure to review it. After you have done a thorough review, make a date with yourself, to review it each year to make sure we have posted your latest earnings correctly. That will give you a firm financial foundation.