COLLEGE STATION In October 1999, the Social Security Administration began to mail individualized Social Security Statements to 125 million workers age 25 and older who are not currently receiving Social Security benefits. This is the largest, customized mailing ever undertaken by a Federal agency and what workers learn from their statements can help them plan their financial futures.
“Don’t disregard the statement when it arrives. Check it over because part of your future retirement income as well as other potential benefits will depend on its accuracy,” says Nancy Granovsky, professor and family economics specialist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.
The statements are being mailed on a staggered schedule according to birth month, with statements scheduled for mailing about three months before a worker’s birthday. Statements will be mailed to workers on an annual basis.
The four-page statement will help workers with financial planning by providing estimates of their retirement, disability and survivors’ benefits. The statement provides an easy way to check on the accuracy of earnings posted on the Social Security record. The amount of Social Security benefits at the time of retirement is based on an individual’s career wage record, so it is important for the earnings amounts to be correctly posted.
One out of every three Social Security beneficiaries is not a retiree but a disabled worker, or a member of a disabled worker’s family, or a survivor of a worker who has died. Social Security provides disability coverage for a worker with a family equivalent to about a $233,000 disability policy. The survivor protection provided by Social Security is equivalent to about a $354,000 life insurance policy, according to the Social Security Administration.
The Social Security Administration wants workers to check their statements and help correct mistakes right away. Here are the things to check and what to do about them if there is a mistake or a discrepancy:
Wrong Address If you have moved since you filed your last federal income tax return, notify the Internal Revenue Service, not Social Security. Social Security does not keep your address in its system until you actually apply for benefits. In the meantime, it relies on the address from your latest income tax return. Submit Form 8822 to the IRS to change your home mailing address. You can get the form by calling the IRS at (800) 829-3676 or printing the form directly from the IRS’ Internet Web site for the form, http://ftp.fedworld.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8822.pdf. Be sure to provide your employer with your new mailing address, too.
Wrong Name or Date of Birth If this vital information is wrong, you will have to correct the information by completing Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card. This form is available from your local Social Security Office. If you do not know the location of the office, call (800) 772-1213. If you have access to the Internet, you can use the Social Security Office Locator by typing in your zip code; you can also print a copy of SS-5 directly from the Web site (http://www.ssa.gov/online/ss-5.html).
Error(s) in Your Earnings Record: Carefully check over your earnings record to make sure that it matches your own earnings record. The best place to check is with your copies of the W-2 forms you attached to your Federal income tax returns from previous years. If there is a discrepancy, contact your Social Security Office or call (800) 772-1213, keeping your W-2 or tax returns handy for your visit and/or conversation. The Social Security Administration urges workers to contact them even if there is no W-2 or tax return readily available as the SSA may be able to search records they have when you provide them with information about your employer’s business name and address. Earnings for the current year will not appear on your record until next year. Earnings for the past year may not yet have been posted by the time you received your statement.
“Consumers should check their statements very carefully. Plan to keep the statements with your permanent files. The easiest way to do this is to make a make a file folder for each worker. After checking the statement for accuracy each year, file the statement in its folder,” suggests Granovsky, who is also a Certified Financial Planner.
Further information about the Social Security Statement may be found at the Web site, http://www.ssa.gov/mystatement/index.htm.
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