Social Security earnings record showing wrong 2024 income amount - when does SSA update?

Don't panic - this is totally normal. The SSA updates earnings records throughout the year as employers report wages, but there's often a significant lag. What you're seeing ($646) could be from a single pay period that your employer has reported so far, or possibly from a different source like contract work. The full earnings record for 2024 won't be completely updated until sometime in 2025 after your W-2s are processed. As long as your 2023 earnings look correct, you shouldn't worry about the partial 2024 data.

Completely normal. SSA receives quarterly wage reports from employers, but they don't always process them immediately. The $646 is probably just one pay period or partial reporting. I had something similar happen - showed $2,100 in February but I'd already earned $9,000. By June it had caught up more. Your complete earnings for 2024 won't finalize in the system until about July 2025 when all tax returns have been processed.

mine does this ALL the time lol 😂 shows random amounts that make no sense then suddenly updates with everything. my accountant said employers only have to report like 4x a year or something. youll be fine!!

If you're worried about this affecting your future benefits, DON'T BE! Social Security calculates your benefit amount based on your highest 35 years of indexed earnings. The system WILL catch up - the $646 is just a partial report. What DOES matter is checking that your previous COMPLETED years are correct. I recommend reviewing your entire earnings record annually to catch any errors for past years. If you find mistakes from previous years, you have 3 years, 3 months, and 15 days from the end of the tax year to correct them, so don't delay if you spot issues with 2021 or earlier!

same thing happnd to me but mine showed $0 for all of 2023 even tho i worked full time!! called ssa and they said wait til end of year. still not fixed n now i cant get thru to anyone!!!

I've had the EXACT same issue every year since I started working!!! The online system is COMPLETELY UNRELIABLE for current year earnings. One time it showed I made $1,200 when I'd actually made $37,000 that year!!! By the next tax season it was correct. The SSA's systems are ANCIENT and can't keep up with real-time reporting. They're using technology from the STONE AGE!!! As long as your employer is withholding correctly and reporting your wages on your W-2, it WILL eventually be correct. The online portal is just TERRIBLY maintained!!!

I worked for payroll for 10 years. Here's what's happening: Your employer sends quarterly wage reports to the IRS (Form 941), but that information isn't automatically shared with SSA in real-time. The $646 could be from a single processed paycheck or from a different income source altogether (like a side gig that issued a 1099). Complete annual wage data is only fully reconciled after W-2 forms are processed following the tax year. Also, some smaller employers still file paper reports which take much longer to process than electronic submissions.

dont worry bout it. ssa always gets it right eventually. my record was showing $1200 for months last year when id made like $22k. fixed itself by december

I see a lot of confusion in this thread about earnings records. To clarify: 1) Employers report wages to SSA quarterly 2) Processing takes time, especially for paper filings 3) The MySocialSecurity portal updates irregularly 4) Complete 2024 earnings won't finalize until mid-2025 5) Small amounts like $646 are typically partial reports 6) This won't affect your future benefits as long as complete W-2 information is eventually processed If you're within 3 years of retirement, I'd recommend requesting an official earnings record by mail to verify everything is accurate for the years that actually count toward your benefit calculation.