The One Social Security Move Absolutely Everyone Must Make Before the End of 2025

Before you wrap up your year-end money chores, like topping up IRAs, reviewing withholdings, and readjusting your budget, there's one more task to add that often gets overlooked.

Reviewing your Social Security earnings record. And it's incredibly important. If your record is missing wages or shows the wrong numbers, your future benefit can be smaller than it should be. You've worked for it and you're entitled to it, so it's just good sense to make sure you don't waste your retirement benefit. 

Fixing errors is easier while the window to correct your record is still open, but here's what you need to know.

How benefits are calculated

The Social Security Administration (SSA) calculates your retirement benefit based on your 35 highest-earning years, after adjusting each year for wage inflation. Those 35 years are averaged to form your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME), and that drives your benefit entitlement formula.

Missing years count as zeros, so if you have any zero years in your top 35, it'll drag your average down significantly for the rest of your life.

Check your earnings easily

You can check your earnings record in just a few minutes by going to your my Social Security account and, from your dashboard, access your Social Security Statement and the Earnings Record page for a detailed breakdown.

What to look for

Scan each year for accuracy. Compare the "Taxed Social Security Earnings" amounts with your W-2s, 1099s, and Schedule SE. Look for years with zero earnings when you know you worked, a figure for a year that's much lower than the corresponding W-2, a missing self-employment year, or a mismatch of some kind. For example, if your name changed due to marriage or divorce, but wasn't properly updated.

Other common causes of inaccuracies include employers reporting the wrong name or Social Security number (SSN), unreported name changes, and everyday reporting errors, such as a misplaced decimal point. 

How to fix mistakes

If something's wrong, gather proof like your W-2s, pay stubs, your final year-end pay statement, filed tax returns, and Schedule SE for self-employment. Then submit a Request of Correction of Earnings Record using Form SSA-7008. You can mail the form or start the process by contacting the SSA. You may also be able to request a correction through your online account.

Be sure to keep copies of everything you send as proof. After you file, the SSA may ask your employer to verify wages for the years in question. If the employer is out of business or records are missing, your own documents can still be enough to approve the correction. Stay responsive to any follow-ups so the correction is dealt with promptly.

Deadlines you need to know

Be aware that, apart from in very specific circumstances, there's a strict time limit to correct your wage entries. Generally, you have three years, three months, and 15 days after the end of the year in which the wages were paid. Therefore, 2022 wage corrections will close by April 15, 2026, and 2021 corrections closed on April 15, 2025.

That doesn't mean you should wait until the last minute. Review and get any issues taken care of as soon as you can for peace of mind.

There are a few exceptions for corrections after the time limit. For example, if the SSA's own records caused the error, or you correctly filed your tax return showing self-employment income, but it wasn't posted to your SSA earnings record. But you'll need substantial satisfactory evidence, and it can take longer to get approval.

So it's not worth relying on an exception if you can correct it now and save yourself time and a headache.

Examples of reporting errors

A wrong name or SSN is a common reporting mistake. Employers sometimes get it wrong, or you could get married (or divorced) and forget to update your name with the SSA. Make sure you report this kind of change, and then make sure your W-2 also shows the correct and updated info.

Employers also sometimes simply make a reporting mistake. Data entry mistakes happen in even the most organized workplaces. If your year looks wrong by even $15,000, it could potentially pull your 35-year average down enough to permanently lower your benefit amount.

If you didn't file in time or a Schedule SE didn't process, a self-employment year can show as zero, which will put a big dent in your AIME. You'll need your filed tax returns to provide strong evidence and add missing self-employment income to your record.

Unreported tips won't show up in your earnings record either, and so won't count toward your future benefit. If your W-2 or records reflect tip reporting, use that evidence to correct the year on your record. You can also file IRS Form 4137 so your tips income flows to SSA via IRS records.

How this protects your future benefit

Because SSA averages your top 35 years of earnings, fixing even one erroneous zero earnings year with the correct amount can raise your future monthly amount for life. Use the SSA's calculators to help you see how added earnings can change your estimated benefit entitlement at different claiming ages.

Bottom line

By December 31, log in, confirm every year's wages, and fix any issues by submitting Form SSA-7008, while the 2022 window is still comfortably open. Then set a yearly reminder to check in late summer to verify the prior year's posting, and do a full review every December.

While it's a chore, if you keep on top of it, it's not that burdensome. Plus, it helps you protect and maximize your retirement benefit and makes sure that a clerical error doesn't shrink your lifetime benefit amount.