Retirement Social Security

The 1 Social Security Move Every American Must Make in 2026

Skipping this step could result in reduced Social Security benefits.

By Lee Huffman

Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated Feb. 2, 2026

People often ignore Social Security until they get close to retirement age. However, whether you just started working, are in the middle of your career, or are already retired, there's one Social Security move you cannot afford to ignore in 2026.

Over time, your earnings change, employers make mistakes, and records get lost. Many people assume their Social Security benefits are accurate, but that's a surprising retirement mistake that can cost you real money throughout retirement.

The single most important Social Security action every American should take in 2026 is to review and update their Social Security earnings record. Here's everything you need to know, including how errors impact your retirement income and how to review and correct your income history.

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Why your earnings record matters more than you think

Your Social Security retirement benefit is based on your 35 highest-earning years of work, adjusted for inflation. If you worked fewer than 35 years, Social Security fills in the gaps with zeros. If your earnings were underreported or missing, those years may also be counted as zeros or lower amounts.

Either way, your monthly benefit goes down.

According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), errors in earnings records do happen, often due to:

Employers reporting incorrect wages
Name or Social Security number mismatches
Self-employment income not properly credited
Older paper records never being digitized

As time passes, it may be harder to correct errors. Your memory could become foggy. Businesses go under, and there's nobody left to contact. Records get lost or deleted when companies update payroll systems. If the documentation goes missing, it may be impossible to update your work history and the Social Security benefits you're owed.

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Why 2026 is a critical year to act

In 2026, several trends make proactive review especially important. First, more retirees are relying on Social Security as a primary income source. The more you rely on Social Security benefits for retirement income, the more critical it is to ensure this data is accurate.

Next, benefit formulas are highly sensitive to missing years. Having even one zero among your 35 highest-earning years could drastically reduce your retirement benefits. This is especially true for people with fluctuating income histories when one of the missing years is a high-income year.

Delayed claiming strategies amplify errors. Retirees who delay Social Security benefits could miss out the most when their income history has missing or incorrect data. In other words, the higher your benefit, the more an error costs you over time.

What can go wrong if you don't review your record

Let's look at how this affects different groups of workers by age.

Younger workers

If you're early or mid-career, missing earnings may not seem urgent. But a single year of uncredited income can follow you for decades. If that year ends up being one of your higher-earning years, it could reduce your future benefit every month in retirement. Younger workers typically find it easiest to correct work history since they haven't worked too many years, and most employment records are digitized today.

Reviewing records now sets a baseline for accurate information. Then you can create a habit of verifying income every couple of years to ensure that nothing is missing or entered incorrectly.

Near-retirees

If you're within five to 10 years of claiming benefits, correcting errors is essential. You have time to update your work history before you start collecting Social Security benefits. However, errors discovered late in life may require old W-2s or tax returns that are hard to locate. If they can't be verified, Social Security may leave the error uncorrected, locking in a lower benefit for life.

Current retirees

Even if you're already collecting benefits, reviewing your earnings history still matters. If an error is caught early enough, your benefit may be adjusted upward. Miss the window, and you may lose thousands of dollars over your remaining lifetime.

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How to review and update your earnings record

Here's what you should do in 2026 to review and update your earnings record to receive the correct Social Security benefits:

Create or log in to your my Social Security account. Creating an account is free and takes just a few minutes to enroll.
Review your earnings history year by year. Compare what's listed to your own records. Use your W-2s or tax returns to verify your earnings history.
Flag missing or incorrect years immediately. Look especially for zeros or unusually low earnings.
Gather documentation. Acceptable proof to correct errors includes W-2 forms, tax returns, or employer statements. If you don't have this information, you can provide details of your work history for Social Security workers to access their records.
Contact the SSA to request a correction. Submit your information to the Social Security Administration online, by mail, over the phone, or in person. If you want to go in person, schedule an appointment to reduce your wait.

Why this one move can increase your lifetime income

Social Security errors often go unnoticed simply because people never check. Correcting even one missing high-earning year can increase your monthly benefit. That adjustment doesn't just increase your income for one year; the update impacts your Social Security benefits for the rest of your life. Over 20 to 30 years of retirement, this simple action could mean tens of thousands of dollars in additional income.

Bottom line

Social Security is many years away for most workers. Yet, whether you're already retired or still working, it pays to review your earnings history for mistakes and missing information. The longer you wait to tackle this simple task, the harder it is to correct errors. Ignoring this task could lead to permanently reduced Social Security benefits for you and your beneficiaries.

Log in to the my Social Security website today to review your earnings history and provide W2s, pay stubs, or tax returns to correct any mistakes. It's a simple action, but it could mean a significant boost to your retirement plan.

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