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I should have made myself clearer in my original post but I was afraid I'd just end up confusing everyone. I'm confused by the whole thing.
The reason we're looking for this info is so my husband can 'buy back ' time for his pension. Without the acceptable proof he'll get $300. less per month for his retirement pension.
He actually started the 'buy back' process years ago to figure out his retirement pension and at what age he should retire. Along with his current employee info and W2's we sent the card from the Bd of Higher Education, and then we never heard anything negative back from them so we assumed that they were satisfied with that, but now that he's trying to set a retirement date we found out that they want more proof.
I'll look into some of those links you all posted and then tonight when my husband gets home I'll have him read this thread and answer questions because I don't want to answer incorrectly.
and yes, save those dang W2's!
Thanks, and I'll answer the rest of your questions after I talk to him.
I had another thought. With the index card from the job showing his wages, someone could calculate what he would have had deducted from his wages. A CPA? Tax attorney? There's proof he worked, and if they would have been required to deduct FICA, etc., then that could be calculated.
We thought of that too, but the 'buy back' program won't accept that as proof.
Who do you need to show this info to? I'm confused. But, he could try signing into his SSA account online. You can see a report of earnings for all years he worked.
If he filed a tax return for that year, it will show what his income was on his tax return. I don't think it shows who he worked for, but it will show the amount he earned on his tax return. If that helps. My report shows all of my earnings for all years, all the way back to when I was 16 years old working part-time after school at a fabric store.
Yes, it shows his earnings and the total amount of taxes taken out over the years but it doesn't show who he worked for or the taxes for any particular year.
He has to show acceptable proof to his 'buy back' program. My husband can buy back the years that he worked for the city way back then which will increase his monthly retirement pension.
We've been working with the 'retirement' people, and the 'buy back' people but no one there has any suggestions on how to find out that info.
One of them suggested that the info we need may be stored at some sort of library near or on Worth St. in Manhattan so I've contacted a few in that area but the ones who've responded said they don't have that information.
Yes, I did a similar thing. I worked for the University of IL and one other employer who didn't take out FICA. I had to pay to get those credits into my pension so it would be added to the amount I was entitled to. I think it was because they were educational employers ?? I recall having to fill out a form, sent it to the employer Human Resources dept. to verify the dates.
Each month I worked there added to my pension from the State of AZ. Is it true there are no personnel records from your husband's employ in 1975? There must be.
I have posted this advice before and have always been flamed for my comment, but your husband's case illustrates why I say it.
ALWAYS save your W2 forms, as they may be the only tangible proof that you worked for an employer when it comes time to file for retirement.
The links provided above by others appear to be helpful for your case. My comment is only for those who may have discovered a bunch of old tax returns in their attic and are about to throw them away.
The problem is that those documents pile up later in life and, due to being so old and (we think) already recorded thanks to income tax reports filed and acknowledged, said paper piles get thrown out during downsizing.
I don't think the W2s are printed with bold words Keep for your entire life. Document might be required to receive benefits after retirement.
What percentage of people age 65 and over still have those things, every one of them?
Yes, I did a similar thing. I worked for the University of IL and one other employer who didn't take out FICA. I had to pay to get those credits into my pension so it would be added to the amount I was entitled to. I think it was because they were educational employers ?? I recall having to fill out a form, sent it to the employer Human Resources dept. to verify the dates.
Each month I worked there added to my pension from the State of AZ. Is it true there are no personnel records from your husband's employ in 1975? There must be.
Keep trying.
Thank you for summing the issue up much better than I have.
We did contact HR who shuffled us over to payroll and they were the ones who sent the hand written card with his employment dates and yearly salary but no tax info, and he did pay tax for those years. They said that's all the info they had but it's not enough for the buy back program. The college has changed names and moved their location too so that may be part of the problem.
I really need to get copies of W2's wage and tax statements prior to 1978 and they're nowhere to be found. I was under the impression the gov't kept everything but they claim they destroy it after 7 years.
We will keep trying. That's too much money to lose.
Businesses don't need to keep records for 40 years. They are mandated by the government how long to keep records, but it's far from 40 years. I can't imagine being able to find any payroll records from 40 years ago anywhere. Even more so with businesses being bought and sold, relocated, bankrupt, etc.
I have posted this advice before and have always been flamed for my comment, but your husband's case illustrates why I say it.
ALWAYS save your W2 forms, as they may be the only tangible proof that you worked for an employer when it comes time to file for retirement.
The links provided above by others appear to be helpful for your case. My comment is only for those who may have discovered a bunch of old tax returns in their attic and are about to throw them away.
What's far more important than saving your W-2 forms for your entire life is to carefully review the summary statement that Social Security sends out every year to everyone that pays into the system to make sure your earnings on that statement for each year are correct. It's a 4 page green and white report that arrives in the mail once a year (I can't remember what time of year it usually arrives). If there are any errors, start the process of getting them fixed as soon as you see the discrepancy on this statement. By far the best time to get any discrepancies fixed is within a year or two of when an error was made.
Fixing something like the OP's issue 40 years later will be practically impossible. The odds of the OP finding any records for payroll or income tax from 1975 are slim at best. If these records still exist, they're on microfilm somewhere, but since the college has moved and changed names, who knows if anyone scanned everything to microfilm before discarding.
Edited to add that reviewing the Social Security statement probably wouldn't have helped in the OP's case since they're looking for specific tax numbers that would not be on the annual statement.
Last edited by patches403; 12-07-2016 at 01:39 PM..
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