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My husband is trying to retire but we're having a lot of problems getting either a tax return, copy of W2, or acceptable proof that he worked for the Bd. of Higher Education for 2 years while attending college.
We contacted the program that my husband worked for.. CETA program payroll dept and the only thing they sent him was an index card showing when he worked and his take home pay, but it doesn't have FICA or any amount of taxes he paid on it.
The IRS only keeps returns 7 years so they were no help. Social Security was no help either.
If we can't find that info...that's $300. per month we'll be losing in income.
This is NY.. Does anyone have any suggestions on where we can the info. needed?
Last edited by elliedeee; 12-06-2016 at 11:21 PM..
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.
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.
Signing into my account at the link above shows all my records that SS has on my taxable earnings and payroll taxes paid. This goes back to 1969. I worked summers at the local grocery store as a teenager before 1969 but those payments don't appear. I have always assumed that the grocer paid me under-the-table and avoided payroll taxes. I would not have known the difference. I assume that you do have a copy of the records at SSA and know that these years are missing.
The Board of Higher Education and the CETA program make me ask if you are sure they paid into SS during the years your husband was in their employ. From The Code of Federal Regulations of the United States of America (US Printing Office, 1980) at Google books, I found the following:
"676.28 4 FICA a Expenditures may be made from CETA funds for taxes under the Federal Insurance Contribution Act PICA 26 USC 3101 et seq b
In States and units of general local government where exclusion of CETA participants from retirement systems or plans would automatically result in exclusion of such participants from coverage under PICA pursuant to requirements of the Social Security Administration SSA FICA coverage is not mandated for such participants. This does not apply to jurisdictions in which CETA participants remain covered by FICA notwithstanding exclusion from a retirement system or plan. Recipients are encouraged to work out appropriate arrangements with the SSA for FICA coverage on behalf of CETA participants who have been automatically excluded from FICA due to exclusion from a retirement system or plan." https://books.google.com/books?id=zO...20fica&f=false
If the government entity making the wage payments fit into the category described before the highlight (which is mine), the employer may not have made payroll tax payments. Might this be the case?
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.
This doesn't make sense to me, perhaps someone can inform me what I am overlooking. Just to model a similar situation (I know, I know, every situation is unique), I loaded my .pia earnings into my SS benefit calculator, and deleted all past earnings from 1977 and 1978. Then I recalculated lifetime earnings just to see what an impact it had on my upcoming SS. Those two open years dropped my benefit only $17.00 per month....nowhere close to $300.
My question is this: were these two years part of your 35-year SS average, or did they drop you from the 40 completed quarters for SS? Bear with me, I don't know why the difference.
Thanks!
All of my income pre-1980 was related to college jobs either from the uni, from professor's grants, or from foundations. As a result, no Social security deductions. Thus no 35 years of relevant SS income. The same might have happened to your hubs.
This doesn't make sense to me, perhaps someone can inform me what I am overlooking. Just to model a similar situation (I know, I know, every situation is unique), I loaded my .pia earnings into my SS benefit calculator, and deleted all past earnings from 1977 and 1978. Then I recalculated lifetime earnings just to see what an impact it had on my upcoming SS. Those two open years dropped my benefit only $17.00 per month....nowhere close to $300.
My question is this: were these two years part of your 35-year SS average, or did they drop you from the 40 completed quarters for SS? Bear with me, I don't know why the difference.
Thanks!
Very good point and I'm interested to hear the answer.
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The forty year old Gotcha!
