The NARSSA Team
October 28, 2026 Work & Earnings
When people think about Social Security, they often focus on when to claim benefits and how much they’ll receive. But there’s another factor worth checking long before retirement: the accuracy of their Social Security earnings record.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses your reported earnings to determine whether you qualify for benefits and to calculate how much you may receive. An error in that record could affect your future payments, making it important to review your information regularly.
How Your Earnings Record Affects Your Benefits
Your earnings record reflects wages and self-employment income covered by Social Security. Employers report wages to the SSA, while self-employed individuals report their earnings through federal tax returns.
For most workers, retirement benefits are calculated using their 35 highest years of earnings covered by Social Security, generally adjusted for changes in average wages. If you’ve worked fewer than 35 years, zeros are included for the remaining years. Continuing to work may increase your benefit if a higher-earning year replaces a lower-earning one.
Missing or incorrect earnings could therefore lead to a smaller retirement benefit. Your earnings history can also affect disability benefits and benefits payable to eligible family members.
Why Checking Early Matters
Errors can happen for several reasons. An employer may report incorrect information, wages may be recorded under the wrong Social Security number, or self-employment earnings may not be reflected properly.
Consider someone who changes jobs several times during their career. Years later, they discover that earnings from one employer are missing. If those wages would have counted among their highest 35 years, the omission could lower their monthly retirement benefit. Even a modest difference each month can add up over many years.
Finding a problem sooner can also make it easier to resolve. Recent W-2 forms, pay stubs, and tax returns may be easier to locate than documents from decades ago. In addition, time limits generally apply to earnings corrections, although exceptions exist.
For business owners and self-employed professionals, this review is especially worthwhile. Social Security benefits are generally based on covered net earnings from self-employment, not total business revenue.
How to Check Your Record
You can review your earnings history through a free my Social Security account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. The account also provides access to your Social Security Statement and personalized benefit estimates.
Compare the earnings listed with your W-2 forms, tax returns, or other records. Look for missing years or amounts that seem unusually low. Remember that earnings from the previous year may not appear until later in the current year because reporting takes time. Also, Social Security earnings may differ from total pay when income exceeds the annual taxable earnings limit.
If you notice a possible error, follow the SSA’s instructions for requesting a correction. Depending on your situation, you may be able to start the process online or need to contact the agency and provide documentation.
Make It an Annual Habit
You don’t have to be close to retirement to benefit from reviewing your record. The SSA recommends checking it each year, while supporting documents are still relatively easy to find.
A quick annual review can help you spot reporting problems before they become harder to correct. After all, your future Social Security benefits depend in part on the earnings recorded throughout your working life.
This article is the property of the National Association of Registered Social Security Analysts Ltd. (NARSSA). It may not be reproduced, republished, or adapted without express permission. Approved RSSAs may request permission to share or adapt this article by contacting pkweller@rssa.com.
