Social Security earnings record mistake from 2016 employer tax fraud - worth pursuing correction?
I'm at my wit's end with this whole situation. For the past 14 months, I've been trying to get my 2016 earnings corrected on my Social Security record. My former employer was convicted of tax fraud (they withheld about $11.2 million meant for IRS and Social Security payments). I've made THREE separate trips to the local SSA office, and today on my fourth visit, the representative finally noticed something I missed - my Social Security number is completely wrong on my W-2 from that employer! How did I miss this? How did my expensive accountant miss this? How did the previous THREE SSA employees miss this?? I left a message with the HR department at that old company, but who knows if they'll even call back after all this time. At this point, I'm wondering if it's even worth the hassle. When I asked the rep today, she estimated fixing this might only increase my eventual monthly benefit by about $15. After all this time and frustration, is it even worth continuing to fight this battle? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills...
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Yara Khoury
It's absolutely worth fixing! Even though $15/month doesn't sound like much now, that adds up to $180/year, and over a 20-30 year retirement, that's $3,600-$5,400 in benefits you'd be leaving on the table. Plus, earnings records affect your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) calculation based on your highest 35 years of earnings. If you don't correct it, that wrong year could be counted as a zero or much lower earnings year in your calculation. The process is annoying but documentation is key. You need: 1) Proof of correct SSN, 2) Wage documentation like paystubs, 3) W-2 showing the error. The SSA has a process for this under their earnings record correction procedures.
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AstroAlpha
•Thanks for doing the math on that - when you put it in the perspective of total lifetime benefits, that does make a difference. I do have my paystubs somewhere in storage and obviously have ID showing my correct SSN. The frustrating part is that I've already spent so many hours on this and keep hitting new obstacles. But you're right, it's my money and I should keep pursuing it.
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Keisha Taylor
the same EXACT thing happened to me but with my 2018 earnings!!! my employer put the wrong ss# on my w2 and then went bankrupt the next year. took me almost 2 years to get it fixed and the ssa people kept giving me different answers every time i went in. one person would say file this form another would say no thats wrong file this other form. SO FRUSTRATING!!!!
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AstroAlpha
•Ugh that sounds awful! Did you eventually get it resolved? What finally worked for you?
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Keisha Taylor
•yeah eventually got fixed but only after i finally got someone who actually knew what they were doing. i had to fill out form SSA-7008 (request for correction of earnings) and provide all my paystubs + old ID. took about 3 more months after that but they did fix it.
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Paolo Longo
I think ur overthinking this. $15 a month is nothing these days. Cant even buy lunch with that. If it was me, i'd just forget about it and move on with life. Too many headaches dealing with goverment bureaucracy lol
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Yara Khoury
•That's not great advice. As I calculated above, over a retirement lifetime that's potentially thousands of dollars. Plus, if this is one of their higher earning years, it could have an even larger impact on their lifetime benefits due to how the SSA calculates your AIME (Average Indexed Monthly Earnings) from your top 35 years.
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Amina Bah
This is actually a common issue when employers commit tax fraud. I dealt with something similar when helping my father-in-law with his benefits. First, you need to file Form SSA-7008 "Request for Correction of Earnings Record" and include ALL documentation you can find - paystubs, bank statements showing deposits, tax returns, etc. The burden of proof is unfortunately on you since the employer reported incorrectly. It's absolutely worth pursuing - the SSA rep who said it's only $15/month is likely underestimating. Depending on your earnings history, a single year could make a more significant difference, especially if 2016 was a higher-earning year for you.
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Oliver Becker
•Actually the form is now called SSA-7011. They updated it last year. The rest of the advice is spot on though.
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CosmicCowboy
Have you tried calling the national SSA number? That might be more efficient than going to the office repeatedly. When I had an earnings issue, I was able to resolve it by phone after providing documentation by mail. I know how frustrating these waits can be. When I needed to talk to someone about my disability review last year, I tried for WEEKS to get through on the phone. I finally used this service called Claimyr that got me through to a live SSA agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Regarding your actual question - YES, absolutely fix your earnings record! Every dollar counts for your future benefits. Plus, that $15 estimate might be low depending on your overall earnings history.
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AstroAlpha
•Thanks for the tip about Claimyr - I'll check that out. At this point I'm willing to try anything that might help move this process along faster. You're right that every dollar counts... it's just been such a frustrating process. I'll look into getting my documentation together and calling rather than making another in-person visit.
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Natasha Orlova
THE WORST PART OF SSA IS DEALING WITH THEIR PHONE SYSTEM!!! I waited 3.5 hours last month only to get disconnected when finally reaching a human!!!!! The system is designed to frustrate us into giving up on what we're ENTITLED TO!! Don't give up - this is YOUR money they're keeping from you because of bureaucratic nonsense! And $15/month is $180/year which is $1800 over 10 years and WAY more over a full retirement!!!! KEEP FIGHTING!!!!
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AstroAlpha
•You're right - and that's exactly how I feel, like they're hoping I'll just give up out of frustration. I know it's not a conspiracy but sometimes it sure feels that way!
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Oliver Becker
Couple questions - how close are you to retirement age? If you're still relatively young, that $15 estimate could be way off because of how benefits are calculated and future COLAs. Also, was 2016 a high-earning year for you compared to other years? That matters a lot for the calculation.
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AstroAlpha
•I'm 47, so still have about 20 years before full retirement age. And yes, 2016 was actually one of my better earning years - I was getting quarterly bonuses at that job before everything fell apart with the fraud situation. Sounds like it might impact more than I thought.
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Oliver Becker
•Oh definitely then! At 47, the $15 estimate is almost certainly too low. Plus, 20 years of annual COLAs will increase that amount. And if 2016 was one of your higher earning years, it will definitely be included in your top 35 years that determine your benefit amount. Keep pursuing this correction!
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Yara Khoury
One more thing to remember - fixing this isn't just about your retirement benefits. Your Social Security earnings record also affects potential SSDI benefits if you ever become disabled before retirement age, and could impact survivor benefits for your family. So there are multiple reasons to make sure your record is accurate.
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AstroAlpha
•I hadn't even thought about that aspect. Really appreciate everyone's advice here. I'm going to gather all my documentation and keep moving forward with getting this fixed.
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Keisha Taylor
just wondering but did you ever file a tax return that year with the wrong ssn? cuz if so the irs shouldve caught it?? or did the employer just report the wrong ssn to ssa but your w2 copy had the right one?
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AstroAlpha
•That's the weird part - the W-2 I received and filed my taxes with had my correct SSN. It seems like what they reported to SSA had the wrong number. The fraud case was mainly about them not submitting the taxes they withheld, but apparently they also messed up the reporting.
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