Social Security statement shows wrong delayed retirement calculation - only 3.3% increase at age 68 instead of 8%

I had a similar issue with my statement last year but it was with my earnings record. You need to submit a Request for Correction of Earnings Record (Form SSA-7008). Make sure to include screenshots of your statement showing the incorrect calculation. The delayed retirement credits should DEFINITELY be 8% per year after your FRA, so your age 68 benefit should be exactly 8% higher than your FRA amount. Something's definitely wrong with your statement.

Had the EXACT same problem!! 🤦‍♀️ But mine showed my age 69 benefit as only like 4% higher than my FRA (66+8mo). And get this - the nice lady at my local SSA office told me not to worry about it because "the statement is just an estimate" and the ACTUAL calculation will be correct when I file!!! Not very reassuring!!!

Social Security retirement benefit specialist here. What you're seeing is likely due to the way the statement displays the projected benefit. The 8% per year DRC (Delayed Retirement Credit) is actually calculated as 2/3 of 1% per MONTH (8% ÷ 12 = 0.667% monthly). If you look closely at your exact birthdate and the exact month they're calculating for, there might be a partial month calculation happening. Also, remember that the % increase is compounded annually, not simply added. I recommend scheduling an appointment with your local office to review this specifically. Bring printed copies of your statements showing the discrepancy. If there truly is a calculation error, they can submit an internal correction request.

the ssa computer systems are ancient... im not surprised they mess up calculations. my dad had his birthday wrong in their system for 40 YEARS and nobody caught it until he applied for benefits lol. good luck getting anyone on the phone tho

I had to get an issue with my earnings record fixed last year, and I spent nearly 3 weeks trying to get through to someone at SSA. After multiple disconnected calls and hours on hold, I found a service called Claimyr that got me connected to an agent in under 20 minutes. Changed everything. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU and their site is claimyr.com Once I got through to a real person, they were able to help correct my record. For your specific issue, you'll want to ask for a "manual recalculation" of your delayed retirement credits. The agent should be able to see if it's just a display error on the statement or an actual calculation problem in their system.

To answer your question - the first agent looked at my record but then transferred me to a technical specialist who knew more about the calculations. The whole call took about 30 minutes once I got through.

You should also check if you're subject to WEP or GPO. If you have a pension from non-covered employment (like certain government jobs), it can affect how your benefits are calculated. That might explain the discrepancy you're seeing.

I've had a lot of different issues with my Social Security statement over the years. Sometimes it's just best to go IN PERSON to your local office rather than dealing with the phone nightmare. Bring all your documents and ask to speak with a claims specialist specifically about the delayed retirement credit calculation. My husband got his issue fixed in one visit, but I spent MONTHS on the phone getting nowhere.

Just to clarify on my earlier comment - I think you'll need to file a more general correction request, not specifically the earnings form. When you get through to an agent (either through the service someone mentioned or by visiting an office), ask specifically for a "manual recalculation of delayed retirement credits." Be really clear that this isn't about earnings but about how the DRCs are being calculated and displayed on your statement.

UPDATE: I finally got through to someone at SSA after using that call service mentioned earlier. The agent explained that there was indeed a display error in how the statement was calculating my age 68 benefit. Apparently there's a known issue with how the system handles certain birth months when displaying the 1-year post-FRA amount. She assured me that when I actually file for benefits (years from now), the calculation will be correct at 8% per year. She made a note in my file about the discrepancy and said they're working on fixing the calculator for the online statements. Thank you all for your help and suggestions!