After filing your taxes, do you check and make sure that your wages have been accurately reported to the Social Security Administration?
Errors and omissions happen and, as an adult, it’s your responsibility to ensure that information reported on your behalf is accurate.
My Story
Years ago, I worked for a large organization who will remain unnamed.
At the end of each year, it was the responsibility of the payroll assistant to ensure that all employee withholdings were reported to the appropriate agencies, including the IRS and Social Security Administration.
It was pre-internet days so submitting withholdings for hundreds of employees was a time intensive task.
At some point, a few calls began trickling in questioning the absence of withholdings to the IRS and missing wage data with the Social Security Administration.
The trickle became a flood, the payroll assistant went AWOL, and the documentation that was to have been reported was found hidden deep in the now unoccupied desk.
Chaos ensued.
It was this incident that led me to realize that data submitted on my behalf is only as good as the person responsible for reporting it.
I learned that errors occur, omissions are made, and that it is my responsibility to ensure that my earnings and withholdings are accurately reported.
Luckily, technology has made managing these tasks so much easier.
It’s easier than ever to monitor wages that have been reported on your behalf.
The easiest way to check wage reporting is to log into your account through the Social Security Administration
There you can check the wages reported on your behalf for every year of your working life.
Retirement benefits are based on the highest thirty-five years of wages so it’s important to get credit for every dollar you earned.
If you don’t already have an online account, it’s easy to create one.
Head over to the login page for my Social Security
Click on create an account.
You will need a Login.gov or ID.Me account to log in. If you don’t have one of those, you will be prompted to create one.
Make sure to save and securely store all login credentials.
Every adult needs to know and have access to their own login credentials.
Don’t rely solely on someone else to manage this for you.
In the event of one of the big D’s (death, divorce, or disability), you don’t want someone to walk away with what amounts to your identity.
As an added bonus, having or creating an online account lowers the risk of identity theft.
There can be only one online account per social security number.
Once the account has been established, no one else should be able to create an account using that number, thus reducing the risk of identity theft.
Once you’re logged in, check and make sure that your wages have been accurately reported.
The earlier errors are caught, the easier they are to get fixed.
If wages for a year are completely missing, start with your employer. Keep your last paystub and your W-2 until you have ensured that your wages have been reported.
Check out what else the site has to offer.
There’s more than just wage data available on the site. Take the time to get aquatinted with the other information available.
Check your expected retirement benefits.
There’s a cool tool to check out.
Choose the age you would like to retire and check out the expected benefit.
It’s kind of eye-opening and a definite help for future planning.
Order a new Social Security Card.
Gone are the days when it’s necessary to visit the nearest office to get a new card.
Now you can order one from your online account.
And there’s more.
There is more you can do in your account.
The point is, having an account is not just for those nearing retirement.
Have you checked to make sure that your wages were accurately reported to the Social Security Administration?
It’s an adulting task that’s too important to overlook!
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Check out Micki’s Little Letter
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