Do I have to pay for a Social Security Summary Matrix after wrong DOB in system?

A Summary Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement (sometimes called an SEBES or summary matrix) is a document showing your entire earnings history with Social Security. It's not normally something you need to pay for - SSA provides it free once per year. If they're trying to verify your DOB, what you actually need is to bring your birth certificate to the SSA office. They shouldn't be charging you for a summary matrix to correct your date of birth.

had same problem last yr. they kept saying wrong papers. turns out they put 1963 instead of 1968 for my birth yr. took 3 visits!!! bring birth certificate AND photo ID next time.

I went through this EXACT same situation last month! The rep was COMPLETELY wrong. You do NOT have to pay for a summary matrix to correct your birth date. That makes no sense. What you need to do is: 1. Bring your original birth certificate (or certified copy) 2. Have a current government-issued ID 3. Fill out form SS-5 (Application for Social Security Card) That's it! They're supposed to correct their records on the spot. I think your rep was confused and mixing up different issues. Someone tried to tell me the same thing and I demanded to speak with a supervisor who fixed it right away.

There seems to be confusion here. A "Summary Matrix" isn't even an official SSA term that I'm aware of. What they might be referring to is: 1. Your Social Security Statement (free online through my Social Security account) 2. A certified earnings record (which has a fee but isn't needed for DOB correction) 3. A PEBES (Personalized Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement) For correcting your date of birth, you only need proper ID documentation. No payment should be required for this simple correction. I recommend scheduling another appointment and specifically stating it's for a "date of birth correction" when you make it.

I had a terrible time trying to reach SSA by phone about a similar issue - kept getting disconnected after waiting for hours. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me from having to take another day off work to visit the office in person.

The SSA is just terrible with these things, my sister had them mix up her SSN with someone else's who had a similar name and it took 6 MONTHS to fix! And they kept sending her to different departments and no one would take responsibility. I think they say these things just to get rid of you sometimes. Keep pushing and don't take no for an answer. Your birth date is your RIGHT to have correct in their system!!!

Just wondering...is this for retirement benefits or disability? Because maybe the requirements are different depending on what kind of benefits you're getting. My cousin had to provide different documentation for his disability claim than my mom did for retirement.

Quick update on what a "summary matrix" might be - after checking with a colleague who worked at SSA, they believe the representative might have been referring to a "Detailed Earnings Query" (DEQY) or "Summary Earnings Query" (SEQY), which are internal SSA documents that do sometimes carry a fee for copies (around $82 for a certified copy). However, these are earnings documents and completely unrelated to birth date corrections. For a simple DOB correction, you only need your birth certificate and ID. The representative was either confused or misinformed you.

Glad to hear you got better information! DOB corrections are actually pretty routine for SSA. Make sure to bring the original birth certificate (or certified copy with the raised seal) to your appointment. Once corrected, I recommend printing a copy of your Social Security Statement afterward to verify the change was properly made in the system.