Social Security is a kind of benefit received from SSA by
disabled employees and in some cases, people who are dependent on disabled
workers and also retired workers. If you are the one living in the USA and
allowed to get SS benefits, it would be a nice idea if you go through your SS
benefits every time no matter whether you want to claim them or not. Are you
keeping a track of the Social Security benefits you have? If not, then it may
give you some losses. If you, being an American citizen, do not have any kind
of clue if the govt. is keeping a perfect record of your earnings and the SS
benefits you are permitted to in retirement.
Are you using SS account online?
The number of American people started registering for online
services by accessing their social security accounts to check their earnings
record in the past 12 months according to the stats of the previous year. Only
1.6 million US citizens got mailed statements. You can get an idea from this
thing that only a small portion of residents got notifications or updates on
their Social Security benefits either by mail or online.
Of course, it may be an effort by the government
unintentionally to reduce the cost of sending statements of the Social Security
benefits in the form of statements to beneficiaries. If we see the stats of
2000, then anyone who was over 25 received a mailed statement each year in an
automatic manner. But these days, only Americans who have an age of over 60
years are not still getting benefits and even their paper statements are not
sending to them by the government. It has been deduced that there is a lot to
see that may give harmful impacts. They are something stealing from them as a
vital part of retirement planning and savings. So, to save yourself from
getting scammed, you should be attentive and do some necessary things to
maintain your Social Security account up-to-date.
Why do you need to check SS account?
When you retire, SS
replaces a considerable piece of the income you lose, which may be 40% on
average. To get an estimation of the benefits, the federal govt. makes use of
the highest earnings for 35 years. If this situation would be the same and the
govt. records include incorrect data related to your earnings, then the more chances,
you may be losing some of your benefits in the end.
Apart from that, checking the Social Security account online
is necessary to seek signs showing that someone is stealing your identity. If the
earnings on your statement are not matching with your own records, then there
is a possibility that someone is illegally accessing your SS number and using
it for their benefits in any manner.
What does your Social Security statement include?
At the same time, you should also have idea of what your
statement shows. It shows a number of things.
- First of all, it gives you an exact idea of how much you have disbursed in Social Security and also Medicare taxes throughout your working years.
- Another estimation it may give you is how much you would obtain in SS benefits upon the completion of the full retirement age.
- You will come to know that you could be qualified for SS benefits if you become disabled and are unable to work, and also survivor benefits.
Of course, these are just estimates that you would come to
know. There are many factors that may impact the actual benefits you get during
the retirement age. Let’s know those factors:
- Cost-of-living extends to SS benefits.
- Ups and downs in your earnings in coming days.
- Railroad employment, military service, or pensions earned through job on which you did not give tax of Social Security.
- Some certain modifications in Social Security.
How can you get your SS statement?
To sustain the records of the Social Security benefits, having
its statement is of greater help. You can get indulged in many ways, with which
you can check your SS records.
Online registration
First of all, get registered with the SSA website and then
sign up for ‘my Social Security.’ It is important to enter your name, birth date, SS number, phone number, and address there in a correct manner. There
are some questions that you need to answer there according to your Equifax
credit report so that they can verify your identity. Afterward, you will obtain
a security code by email or text so that the registration process can be
completed. In any case, if your Equifax credit report is blocked, firstly, you
should fix it first. Regarding the registration procedure, if you may get any
trouble, then don’t panic at all, Social Security office is available to help
you in any manner.
Paper mode
The second way to take charge of your SS statement is to send
them a paper by mail. For that reason, you will have to fill out a form such as
Form SSA-7004 with the right details and send it to the correct address
mentioned on the form by mail. This way, you will be able to get the paper
statement in your mail within 4 to 6 weeks.
Inspecting your SS statement
Once you get the SS statement, then it would be better if
you compare the mailed statement and the records you have with you. You can
match it with current W-2 forms obtained from your employer. The estimations
provided to you combine each and every earnings for a year. Hence, if you had
more than one employment options, then it should be a necessary task to add
those up, avoiding mess completely.
Make sure to keep in mind that your earnings for the previous
year may not be recorded still that depends on the time when you check it. And
if you crossed the limit of the total amount of earnings you devote to SS, then
it would not be seen on the statement. If there are errors in earnings, then
immediately contact the SSA at helpline 1-800-772-1213 to get possible
solutions.
