Why is my earnings info on ssa.gov so inaccurate? How does SSA update earnings records?

Thanks for the explanation! My income definitely didn't hit the maximum threshold, so that's not it. I do have 3 different W-2 jobs, so maybe one of them had a reporting issue. Do you know how long I should wait before contacting SSA about this? And would I need to provide copies of my W-2s as proof?

I'd recommend waiting until you have all your W-2s in hand for 2023 before reaching out to SSA. Compare the Social Security wages on your W-2s (Box 3) with what's showing on your SSA record to see which employer might be missing. If there's still a discrepancy after a few months, you should definitely contact the SSA. You can call them at 1-800-772-1213 or visit a local office. And yes, bring copies of your W-2s as proof of your earnings. They'll need those to verify and correct any errors.

How exactly does taxr.ai work? Does it access your SSA account somehow or do you have to upload your W-2s? I'm having a similar issue but I'm nervous about giving access to sensitive tax info.

I've never heard of taxr.ai - sounds like some kind of scam to get your tax documents. Why would you need a special tool when you can just look at your W-2s yourself and compare with the SSA website?

The tool doesn't access your SSA account directly - you upload your tax documents and it analyzes them to identify discrepancies. It uses document recognition to extract the data from your W-2s and other tax forms, then compares it with information you can manually enter from your SSA account. It's not a scam at all - it's actually really helpful because it doesn't just identify problems but walks you through exactly what steps to take to resolve them. It saved me hours of confusion trying to figure out which employer made the reporting error and what documentation I needed to fix it.

Wait, I don't understand how this works. How can they get you through faster than if you called yourself? Doesn't everyone have to wait in the same queue?

This sounds like BS. There's no way to "skip the line" with government agencies. They probably just keep redialing and charge you for the privilege. Has anyone actually confirmed this is legit?

They don't skip the line - they use an automated system that waits on hold for you. When a real SSA representative answers, their system connects you. It's the same wait time as if you called yourself, but you don't have to personally sit on hold for hours. Everyone does wait in the same queue - the difference is you can go about your day while their system handles the waiting part. When they get a human on the line, you get a call and you're talking to an actual SSA rep within seconds. It saved me an entire afternoon of listening to hold music.

I checked both and there's definitely an issue. My Medicare earnings are also lower than they should be compared to my actual income. And I'm nowhere near the Social Security tax limit - I made about $115K total across all my jobs in 2022. So something is definitely missing from my record.

If your Medicare earnings are also lower than expected, then it's almost certainly a reporting issue from one or more employers. The SSA doesn't automatically correct these problems - you need to bring it to their attention. I'd recommend printing out your earnings record from ssa.gov, gathering all your W-2s, and visiting a local SSA office. They can compare the documents and initiate a correction. Don't wait too long - there's a 3-year, 3-month, and 15-day time limit from the year in question to correct earnings records.

This happened to me! The problem was that my employer filed W-2c forms (corrected W-2s) with the IRS but didn't properly submit them to SSA. I only discovered it when I checked my Social Security statement. Took months to get fixed because my employer kept insisting they'd submitted everything correctly.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Did you have to contact your employer to resubmit to SSA, or did you handle it directly with the Social Security office? I'm worried about this affecting my future benefits.

Thank you so much for this official clarification! This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I had no idea there was a statute of limitations for correcting earnings records - that's really important to know. I definitely want to visit my local SSA office rather than trying to call. Do I need to make an appointment first, or can I just walk in? And should I bring anything besides my W-2s - like my tax returns or SSA earnings statement printout? Also, when you say "initiate corrections immediately" - does that mean my earnings record gets updated that same day, or is there still a processing period after you submit the correction?

This is incredibly helpful information from someone who actually works at SSA! I had no idea about the statute of limitations - that's honestly kind of scary since I've been putting this off for months thinking it would resolve itself. Just to confirm - when you say 3 years, 3 months, and 15 days, does that mean I have until April 15, 2026 to correct any issues with my 2022 earnings? And is this deadline the same regardless of whether it's an employer error or just a processing delay on SSA's end? Also, I'm curious about something - if an employer submits a corrected W-2 to the IRS but not to SSA, shouldn't there be some kind of automated system to catch these discrepancies? It seems like a pretty big gap in the process that could affect a lot of people's benefits calculations.

This is such valuable information from someone who actually works there! I'm dealing with this exact issue right now - my 2022 earnings are showing about $32k less than they should be. Quick question about the statute of limitations - does the clock start from December 31st of the tax year or from when the W-2s were supposed to be filed? And if I discover the error right before the deadline expires, will SSA still process the correction or do I need to allow extra time for processing? I'm definitely planning to visit my local office with all my W-2s. Should I also bring a printed copy of my current earnings record from ssa.gov to help them see exactly what's missing?