Social Security payment deductions mystery - can't see where 28% of my benefits went

There should be a "Payment History" link in your MySocialSecurity account that shows the breakdown. Sometimes it takes a day or two after your first payment to appear. The link should be on your main account page when you log in. Along with Medicare, they might be withholding federal taxes at the standard 10-12% even if you didn't request it - this happens sometimes with first payments. Also check if you have Medicare Part D premium being deducted automatically.

mine took 4 days to show up after my first deposit last year. the ssa website is from like 1995 lol. check again tomorrow. also double check you're not looking at your gross amount vs net amount. they always tell you the before-deductions number when they approve you but obv you never actually get that full amount

The discrepancy could be from a couple things: 1) Medicare Part B ($187.50) as you mentioned, 2) Possible Medicare Part D premium if you enrolled, 3) Federal tax withholding (often at 10-22% depending on your selections), 4) Possible Medicare IRMAA surcharge if your income from 2 years ago was above certain thresholds. The Payment Details link should appear under "Benefits & Payments" section within a few days of your first payment. If it doesn't show up within a week, call SSA directly - but be prepared for a long wait time.

Also, double check your deposit date. Sometimes banks post SS deposits on different days than SSA says they sent them. My bank always shows my SS deposit a day later than SSA claims they sent it. Drives me nuts every month lol

I had the EXACT same problem last month and spent THREE DAYS trying to get through to SSA on the phone. Kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. I finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a real agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - basically they hold your place in line and call you when an agent is about to pick up. Saved me so much frustration! The agent explained that sometimes first payments have weird deductions that get sorted out in the second month.

THE SSA ALWAYS DOES THIS!!!! They NEVER explain deductions properly and expect us to figure it out ourselves! I've been on SS for 3 years and STILL don't understand why my payment changes sometimes. One month they took an extra $43 and when I finally got someone on the phone they said it was "an adjustment from a previous calculation" but couldn't tell me WHICH calculation!! The whole system is designed to be confusing on purpose I swear!!

One more thing to check - your first payment sometimes includes retroactive benefits or partial month payments depending on when you applied versus when you were eligible to start. This can make the first deposit amount seem off compared to your regular monthly amount. The Payment History section should clarify this once it appears. If your regular monthly payment is still significantly lower than expected after the second payment, then definitely call SSA for a breakdown of deductions.

I went through this exact same confusion when I started receiving benefits last year! The missing piece for me was that they automatically enrolled me in Medicare Part D (prescription drug coverage) without me realizing it, which was another $35/month deduction on top of Part B. Also, even though I didn't request federal tax withholding, they started taking out 10% automatically because my total income (including SS) put me in a bracket where they felt it was necessary. Check your Medicare.gov account too - sometimes the Part D enrollment happens automatically based on your income level and you'll see those deductions there before they show up in your SSA payment breakdown. The good news is once you understand all the moving pieces, it becomes much more predictable!

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now! Just started receiving benefits this month and was shocked when my deposit was $400+ less than my award letter said. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - especially learning about the automatic Part D enrollment and tax withholding that can happen without you realizing it. I'm going to check my Medicare.gov account tonight to see if I got auto-enrolled in a Part D plan I don't remember signing up for. It's really frustrating that SSA doesn't provide clearer upfront communication about all these potential deductions, but this community has been more helpful than any official resource I've found so far. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences!

This thread has been so helpful! I'm about to start receiving my benefits next month and had no idea about all these potential automatic deductions and enrollments. Reading about the Medicare Part D auto-enrollment, automatic tax withholding, and the delayed appearance of the Payment History link has given me a much better idea of what to expect. I'm definitely going to bookmark this conversation and check both my MySocialSecurity account AND Medicare.gov account carefully after my first payment hits. It's really unfortunate that SSA doesn't provide a clear "what to expect with your first payment" guide that covers all these possibilities upfront. Thank you all for sharing your real experiences - this is exactly the kind of practical information that new beneficiaries need but can't seem to find in official resources!